The Legend of Leen
by DeadtoSin
Summary: A former Champion & child superhero once discovered an unknown Pokémon species hiding in his home universe. After 10 years, will he finally learn the truth behind why the two worlds are connected and the diabolical forces threatening to unravel them both?
1. Prologue

**The Legend of Leen, Part I**

_**Prologue: 9 years earlier**_

_"Bring it around!"_

_"Jason! We need to do it NOW!"_

_"It's not weak enough!"_

_"We. Are going. To DIE! We have to give the signal—!"_

_"One more shot! We need one more shot!"_

_"Jason!"_

_"Char-Char, everything you've got! Full power!"_

_"GROOOOOAAAARRR!"_

_The lights on the bridge flickered and dimmed as a Charizard's Fire Blast poured into the energy receivers on the deck below. There was heard the fire Pokémon's snarl, along with the haunting shriek of an Articuno using Blizzard, the crackle of a Raichu's Thunder, and a few hundred other Pokémon pouring their elemental energies into the star ship's weapon reserves._

_"Now or never, dude!" said Nick, one of the two boys on deck._

_The other, Jason, grimaced and tightened his hand around the discharge lever. His eyes followed their target on the view screen as his ship's computer drained all power from shields and targeting into the weapon. Their quarry would require every ounce of juice they could pump it full of._

_In the pitch black of the bridge, all grew silent for but a moment. Against the starless space before him, Jason saw his target grow larger. _

_He pulled the lever._

_"Fire!" He commanded the ship._

_A broad beam of brilliant, multicolored light lanced across the distance between the ship and the creature. The blast struck the ancient abomination square in what could have been called its chest, stopping it in its tracks and pressing it backwards._

_Had it not been shot many times by the ship's Pokémon-amplified weapons already, it would have shrugged off the hit and continued in its flight. This final blast, however, was too much for it to bear. The beam hurtled it away, pressing it ever closer to the event horizon._

_ Jason brought up the one communication channel that the ship had reserved. "Leen, now!" He shouted into the receiver._

_Beyond the viewport, a tiny comet of golden light streaked through outer space along the ship's weapon's trajectory. At its tip was a golden sphere that Jacob knew protected a rare Pokémon, Leen, from the vacuum of space._

_Jason's eyes narrowed as he prayed for their plan to work._

_As the beam from the ship narrowed in diameter and died away, the monster began to transform._

_It was a shape-shifter. Every time they had injured it enough to kill it, it had absorbed the energy of their bullets, lasers, and everything else, using it to transform into a more powerful iteration of itself. Each transformation required more energy to defeat, and even when defeated it only came back stronger._

_They had thought too late to lure it into a black hole; it now even possessed the power to escape from beyond the event horizon._

_Yet they had one hope._

_They had discovered that, as the creature transformed, it was vulnerable to its transformation phase being perpetuated by introduction of a powerful wave of energy into its system. And while it was transforming, it couldn't move. The downside was that if the energy source was ever depleted, the creature would complete its transformation into an utterly unstoppable force due to all the energy it had absorbed._

_From the comet's sphere erupted a beam of the special, Gold-elemental energy Leen was capable of producing. It struck the abomination's shifting form and lingered, sparkling brighter than the stars surrounding._

_The self-sustaining, Gold energy—dubbed for its color—was their secret weapon in this fight. Due to properties beyond the galaxy's scientists' understanding of physics, Gold energy remained for several minutes at the power level it had when generated. It would eventually dissipate . . . unless, theoretically, there was a strong enough gravity field to hold it in place._

_If Leen could force the creature past the event horizon with reserves of Gold energy surrounding its body, it would become trapped in the black hole in a perpetual metamorphosis until the end of time._

_If the plan failed . . . ._

_In this latest transformation, it had taken everything the team had to weaken it. With all the energy they were pouring into it, if the monster completed another transformation, they would never be able to stop it._

_"Come on, Leen, you can do it!"_

_"This had better work. Come on, Leen!"_

_The boys watched as Leen fired blast after blast of Gold into the writhing mass of flesh. The dark skin and armor was slowly engulfed in a splotchy bubble of shimmering, ochre light._

_Then, Leen's beams began to bend away from their target. The monster itself, encapsulated in Gold energy, began to stretch like taffy._

_"It's working . . . ."_

_"Alright, Leen, one more good shot, and then get out of there!"_

_As the creature of darkness fell away into its prison of oblivion, a final burst of Gold ignited the eternal night of space. _

_"Okay, come home, come home! You did it!"_

_Leen began to turn around . . . but was still moving toward the black hole._

_Nick turned white in realization. _

"Jason_ . . . he's caught in the black hole's gravity."_

_"LEEN! Fight it! Get out of there!"_

_The comet's tail slipped and fell into the darkness after the stretching mass of gold that was their enemy's final bonds. Leen's protective sphere began to distort._

_"Leeeeeen!" came a warped-sounding Pokémon cry from the ship's speakers. _

_"Computer, full power to engines!" Jason screamed, "Get us back online!"_

_"_Powering engines_," the computer responded._

_There was a low hum, and the ship began moving forward._

_Too slowly._

_"Leen! You have to fight! Give it everything you've got! I can't lose you! Hang on, Leen, hang on!"_

_Suddenly, the little orb of gold pulsed brighter. A rocket trail of energy fired off into the black hole's abyss. And slowly, slowly, Leen began moving forward._

_"He's gonna make it, Jason. Hang on, Leen, we're coming! He's gonna make it."_

_"You can do it, Leen! Come toward us! Keep fighting with everything you've got!"_

_Leen's sphere came to a stop. The little Pokémon could go no further. Yet, he did not lose ground, either. The ship came into position. _

_"Computer! Turn us around and fire the tractor beam! Full power! No, optimum distribution between engines and tractor for escape from a Class 10 gravitational field."_

_"Converting power reserves," said the computer._

_The bridge stayed dark until the transparent, green tractor beam lit up the ship and the space surrounding it._

_"Come on, Leen! Keep pushing! We're gonna need your help!"_

_Leen's glow was diminishing._

_"You can do it! You can do it! Come on! All you've got! This is it! The final push! You can do it! Come on!"_

_ Jason gripped the manual accelerator with both hands and pressed forward as hard as he could, as if he could make the ship go faster._

_"Please, God. Please, let us make it."_

_Slowly, the ship and Leen inched forward. _

_Behind them, the monster's golden cell spaghettied, then shriveled, and finally disappeared to a point beyond sight. It was a grim picture of what would happen to all of them if they couldn't pull free._

"_How much further till breakaway?" asked the other boy on the bridge, Nick._

"_Two minutes," the computer replied calmly, "The ship's engines will not survive the strain of these gravitational forces for that long without dampeners activated."_

"_Why didn't you tell us that before!"_

"_The information was not requested," the computer seemed to retort, "However, activating dampeners would detract power from the tractor beam, decreasing the probability of Leen's survival from 2.003% to 0.875%."_

"_Char-Char!" Jason called, "We need one more! Computer, reroute the auxiliary energy capacitors to engines!"_

_There was no response from below deck. Jason knew the Pokémon were exhausted._

"_Char-Char, it's to save Leen."_

_There was a raspy set of cries from the stairwell, followed by a weak rumble of burning plasma, rushing water, tremulous quakes, and other sounds of fighters pushed beyond the brink._

"_Just out of curiosity," Nick said, "What are the chances we make it out of this now?"_

"_Probability of all surviving: 3.101%" _

_ Jason sighed, "Well, at least those are better odds than that time—"_

"_I told you not to remind me about that."_

"_Right. Sorry."_

_ Jason closed his eyes and said a silent prayer._

_The seconds ticked by like minutes. All the while, they could feel the trembling strain of the ship against the massive tide of gravitational forces threatening to crush them to death._

_Then . . . the shaking stopped. The lights on the bridge flickered back on._

_Jacob tried to speak, but realized his chest was so tight he hadn't been breathing. He forced himself to inhale—shakily—, and then said, "Computer?"_

_"Your ship has cleared the danger zone. Leen will be aboard in 9 seconds. All other crew show positive life signs."_

_The boys raced below deck. Jason shook off the dizziness he felt—he had to remind himself to breathe again—and made for the tractor bay._

_The airlock was pressurizing as they reached the door._

_ Jason ran in and slid next to Leen's fallen form, running his hands gently across the hawk-sized bird's golden neck feathers._

_"Leen is alive in waveform 3 consciousness. He should awake shortly once the oxygen circulates through his system."_

_"How long was he exposed to the vacuum?" Nick asked._

_"Only a fraction of a second," the computer responded, "Sensors confirm his Gold Aura was active—although faint—until a moment before he lost full consciousness. The tractor beam acted as protection, although there may be minor damage to his system due to his time in the unpressurized airlock."_

_"So he'll make it?" Jason breathed._

_"With a 96% chance of full recovery."_

_"Praise God."_

_ Jason scooped up Leen and carried him into the room where his and Nick's other Pokémon lie sprawled across the floor. Most of them were breathing deeply. Some of them were unconscious._

_ Jason made his way to where his Charizard—his first Pokémon—lay belly-down at the front of the room. He gently laid Leen next to their larger friend and smiled._

_"We did it, man. Thank you. Thank you so much. You were all awesome."_

_Nick knelt in similar fashion next to his Blastoise. _

"_That was a close call," he said. "One of the closest we've ever had."_

_"One of the scariest, too."_

_"Yeah. Let's not do that again, kay?"_

_ Jason sighed. "I hope we never have to see another black hole again as long as we live. But knowing us. . . ."_

_"We need a vacation."_

_"We just _had_ a vacation. Look how that turned out. Let's get back to Earth so we can get these guys digitized and to a Pokémon Center."_

_"Some Nurse Joy in some town is going to have the busiest day of her career, starting in a couple of hours."_

_"Yeah," Jason chuckled tiredly, "Nick, could you stay down here with these guys? I need to report."_

_"Yes. Tell 'em we just iced ourselves one, giant pile of silly putty. And please use the term, 'iced.'"_

_"Not gravitonically annihilated?"_

_"If that's an actual word, you can use that, too."_

_"Communications online," the computer reported, "Shall we plot a course for Earth?"_

_"Yes," Jason smiled, "Computer, take us home."_


	2. New Beginnings

**The Legend of Leen**

_**Chapter 1: New Beginnings**_

"There they are. Let's set down here."

A silver, orb-shaped, personal air transport slowed to a hover and came to rest near a bubbling stream in the Sinnoh region. The upward-sliding door to the pod hissed open, and out stepped two figures.

One was a tall, lean man in his early twenties—twenty-one to be exact. He wore casual, traveling clothes: extra-rugged blue jeans, a t-shirt (orange—his favorite color), tennis shoes, and a light jacket. At his side was a shiny, red Pokédex with an older-looking cover but the most up-to-date and groundbreaking software available, along with six Pokéballs attached to a trainer's magnetic belt.

To anyone who didn't know him, he could have appeared to have been a seasoned trainer from any modernized city in the Pokémon World. But he was not, in fact, from the Pokémon World.

Jason Matthews was one of many trainers in recent years who had ventured into the Pokémon Universe through the Real World that existed parallel to this one. While most Real Earth trainers, however, simply had avatars to interact with the digital, Pokémon World through a series of popular video games, Jason and a few of his friends had acquired the technology to digitize themselves and enter this cyber Universe for real.

This technology, of course, had not been of Earth origin.

It had been twelve years since Jason had stumbled across the portal that led him to another planet and the adventure of a lifetime.

Three years ago, that adventure finally came to its climactic conclusion as Jason battled and defeated a sentient space-time distortion that had threatened to become a pan-dimensional consciousness with powers of spatial and temporal manipulation so vast that it could have ripped the fabric of the Universe to shreds.

But that's another story.

Oh, yes, Jason had quite the share of stories he could tell, if anyone would have believed him. He had been chosen by an alien technology to carry the fate of several galaxies, transformed into a variety of animals, gained telekinetic powers, tried exotic foods on alien planets, helped end half a dozen, separate wars, lost comrades and gained friends with more appendages than he had fingers—and toes—, and so much more.

Protectors, his team had called themselves.

And, he had become a Pokémon League legend.

During his travels amongst the stars, scientists working for Ziton, the planet that had sponsored Jason and his band of heroes, had developed a way to send physical beings into the universes interwoven with and dwelling beneath our own.

In the sub-Universe where Pokémon lived, Jason, Nick, and a few others on their team had been graciously welcomed and given the chance to start Pokémon journeys of their own.

Thus, in between battling various intergalactic warlords, Jason would enjoy the more lighthearted challenge of a competitive, Pokémon trainer career.

And although his and Char-Char's start from Pallet Town had been rough, they had eventually become quite good. So good, in fact, that they had won some of the most prestigious tournaments in the Pokémon League. First place in the Silver Conference; Elite Four Challenge Champions of Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn; Kanto's Super Tournament, which required a complete Kanto Pokédex for eligibility and whose final rounds featured a battle including _all_ 151 of Kanto's Pokémon; the challenging Ultra League, to name a few.

His was not a face all would recognize as a celebrity—he didn't do many interviews—but on second glance, virtually any trainer who watched the Elite Four matches would recognize him. Jason was known in his early years as a trainer for challenging the Elite Four of various regions with team after team, with each member of his "Top 6" Kanto Pokémon eventually able to take on the combined might of their most powerful Pokémon single-handedly.

These fights, and other big-name tournaments, affiliated with the official Pokémon League or otherwise, had been broadcast on national T.V. Those living on the other side of the globe might not be as aware of him, but almost anyone on the string of islands that included the Kanto-Johto landmass, as well as those in the continental provinces west of the islands, would know his name as well as that of Lance, Steven, or Cynthia.

Perhaps less well-known—but highly appreciated by those who did know him—was the small traveler who hopped down the transport's extending steps at Jason's right.

"Leen!" Squeaked the little golden bird, happy to get some fresh air.

Jason smiled, "Wanna go let them know we're here?"

"Leen!" Leen said happily.

The bird spread his wings and took aloft, his long, Articuno-like tail feathers glistening in the bright, noon sun.

Leen had for years been Jason's ace in the hole. When tournaments allowed it, Jason had utilized the surprise of Leen's rare and powerful elemental type to get the jump on competitors.

Leen had never been in a Pokéball; the bird had chosen to follow Jason after the latter had discovered him—of all places—in the jungles of India on Real World Earth.

How a small colony of these enigmatic Pokémon had come to be found in his world, Jason had no idea. He suspected the answer to be a potential key for unraveling the unsolved mysteries of the Pokémon Universe and its relationship with his own.

And it was those mysteries that had brought him here yet again, almost a year after his previous venture in which a nearly world-ending disaster had been averted.

_Again_.

Jason sighed. So often, he set out on these journeys for leisure, and they turned into something much bigger, much more dangerous, with much more at stake than he had ever wanted to be responsible for. With his luck, this trip that was supposed to be devoted purely to exploration and research would lead him to uncover some diabolical plot to—but maybe that was destiny's way with him.

Just like it was destiny's way with the young man Jason was on his way to see.

On a picnic table next to the stream sat a boy with ardent eyes gazing across the field at the city not too far in the distance. He had just returned from the Sinnoh League Pokémon Tournament. A trainer that Jason knew held greater promise than any other in the world.

_Because his heart is more passionate than any other in the world_, Jason thought admiringly.

The grass crunched as Jason and Leen approached, and the boy, 15 now, turned his head.

"Ash," Jason smiled.

Ash's eyes widened, and his face beamed in a grin.

"Jason! Hey, Pikachu, it's Jason!"

"Pika, Pika? Pika! Chu!" Said the little mouse Pokémon who had been napping, resting his head on Ash's lap.

"Hey, Pikachu! Good to see you, buddy!"

"Ka-Chuuu!"

"Leen!"

"Pika!"

The two trainers laughed as Pikachu and Leen tackled each other and began play-wrestling on the ground.

"What're you doin' here?" Ash asked.

"I'm on my way to another adventure," Jason smiled wider, "I wanted to come see you before I left. I watched you in the tournament. You did great!"

"Haha, yeah, I felt pretty good about it. It's never easy to lose, but I know we'll just get better the more we train! Right, Pikachu?"

"Pikaaa!"

"Hey, you got in the top 4. That's pretty awesome. You're one of the best trainers out there, definitely better than most people your age. You'll win one soon, I bet. And then you'll just start winning all of them."

"Haha, I hope so. So what's been new with you?"

Jason had made his way over to the table and joined Ash in sitting down, looking across the open plain.

"I'm actually kind of starting a new Pokémon journey," he said, grinning at Ash to see his reaction, "I'm taking Leen to the Nyor region west of Hoenn. Some friends at Silph Co. told me there were some energy readings there and some legendary bird sightings, including one that might have been a Leen. We're going to see if there's any connection to the Leen in my world or if there's any clues on how Leen can evolve."

"Ha, wow, that's awesome! I hope you find out all the stuff you're looking for! I'm fixin' to head off to the Unova region for another journey, too!"

"Really?" Jason marveled, "I've never heard of it. Where is that?"

"On the other side of the world! I looked at the map of your world that you showed me, and it's right where a place called New York would be. That's pretty close to where you live, right?"

"No way! Yeah, it's in the same nation, anyway. That's so cool. I hope you have a great time. Brock and Dawn going with you?"

"Nope. This one's just me and Pikachu again. Starting over."

Jason felt a little disappointed that his friend would be starting off alone. But, then again, you were never alone when you had a friend like Pikachu with you.

"It really is all about making new friends for you, isn't it?" Jason asked.

That's where Ash was different from him. Jason loved having friends, but at this stage of his life, he put more energy into the relationships he had already built. That's why he was relishing this opportunity to spend some time traveling and exploring with some of his oldest Pokémon companions.

Ash grinned broadly. "Yeah, I guess so. But I'd never leave Pikachu behind. I guess without at least one good friend, I'd be pretty lonely. And Pikachu is my best friend, so I can't go wrong! Besides, like you said, I'll be making all sorts of new friends, I bet! And the more friends you have, the better life gets, because bonds between true friends can never be broken!"

Jason couldn't help but smile at Ash's heart.

_Definitely one of my favorite people to be around_.

"You know, though . . . " Ash turned serious for a moment while somehow still being energetic and lighthearted, "I've been thinking about what you said the last time I saw you. About my motives for training. Do you remember talking about that?"

Jason nodded appreciatively. It had been a great conversation.

"I want my motives to be selfless. And with all the adventures I've been on, I'm starting to see myself as someone who's supposed to protect people and Pokémon. I want it to be about that, not just about getting to the top."

Jason nodded again, smiling. "I think that's great. Just how it should be."

"But," Ash qualified, "I still believe it's my destiny to become a Pokémon Master."

"I do too," Jason agreed, "I've always believed that, from the day I met you. You _will_ be the best. I just hope you'll stay humble."

"Will do," Ash gave a firm nod and an exuberant grin.

"Hey, Ash!" came a voice familiar to both of them, "Who's that with ya?"

Their mutual friend, Brock, and Ash's new companion, Dawn, whom Jason had only met once, came running up. There were handshakes and hugs, and recounting of stories of the trio's adventures in Sinnoh. There was laughter as the group let their Pokémon out to play and catch up together. And then, finally, it was time to say goodbye.

Ash and his group walked Jason and Leen back to their transport pod to see them off.

"It was great seeing you, Jason. You too, Leen," said Ash.

Pikachu and Leen chirped in agreement.

"You too, Ash. Brock. Dawn, really nice to see you again."

"Always a pleasure," said Brock.

"You too!" Dawn smiled, "Have a lot of fun in Nyor. Be safe."

"I will," Jason smiled.

With a few more waves, the group parted ways as the door to the transport slid closed. Soon, Jason was lifting off, waving down one last time from the cockpit, and then maneuvering out of sight as the little airship streaked off toward the west.

Grasslands, forests, mountains, and towns zipped by, and as Jason watched them, he felt a sad longing for a place he could settle down. He passed by the remains of the pyramid where several months before he had done his part in narrowly preventing an apocalypse.

Soon, he crossed the ocean and was nearing the eastern shore of Kanto. Seeing the familiar coastline, his mind changed—as it often did—from wanting to reach his next destination as quickly as possible to deciding to take a little trip of nostalgia.

He slowed the transport and took a couple quick turns for fun around Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town. Then, to the west.

Just outside the city, there was his Gym, the Power Gym, Pokémon League certified and run by a staff of trainers and Pokémon during the long stretches of time that he was away. Its Indomitable Spirit Badge, representing Jason's strategy of all-out, max-power attack and fearlessness in the face of opponents' offenses, was still one of the most sought-after by trainers and one of the most rarely obtained, but numerous trainers stayed there for long periods of time to get some top-of-the-line coaching.

Veering south, Jason passed Fuschia City to his left and swooped over Seafoam Islands, where he had captured Freezy, his loyal Articuno, shortly after leaving Fuchsia City with his Soul Badge. Jason hadn't used Freezy much in the beginning, but when Jason had begun to learn the importance of a balanced team in regard to elemental types, Freezy joined his Top 6 and quickly became Jason's number two Pokémon, after Char-Char.

_I was so naïve starting off. How in the world did we make it this far, guys?_

Jason veered north, with Cinnabar far to the left, where the Missingno crisis had occurred. Jason winced at how foolish he had been and what his greed for quick and easy power, joined with that of other trainers, had almost cost the world.

Next, he passed Pallet Town just off to the left. This was where the journey began. Ash's mom had let Jason and a few of his friends use her house as a home base during their travels. Jason thought about dropping in to see her and Professor Oak, but night was falling and he was itching to get where he was going.

Soon, Viridian City was off to the right, where Joseph Oak, the professor's grandson, Gary's cousin, and Jason's once bitter rival, now led the Viridian Gym, another Gym emphasizing battle strategy rather than a particular elemental type.

Then, ahead, Indigo Plateau, where Jason had spent weeks at a time training to take down the Elite Four. Faces had changed since those days. Lorelai, whose water and ice types had given him so much trouble upon his first arrival that his Pokémon were too worn out to handle what would have been easier battles against Bruno and Agatha, had retired. Jason remembered, embarrassed, how he had traded temporarily for a friend's Venosaur in order to achieve his first few Elite Four victories. Eventually, though, Char-Char had gotten strong enough to handle Lorelai on his own, causing the world to marvel at such a remarkably powerful Fire-type.

Jason steered his ship further to the west and crossed over Mt. Silver, where he and Nick had been declared joint winners of the Silver Conference. The preceding battle had been one of the most ferocious and exciting of both their careers.

Then, Blackthorn City, where Claire, another friend Jason had made a few years back, had her Gym.

Jason's journey through Johto had been a strange set of circumstances. He had been admitted to the Silver Conference years before because of his accomplishments in Kanto, but he had always wanted to challenge the Gym leaders in Johto.

Strangely, a time-traveling fluke having to do with Missingno had placed the journey's actual occurrence right after his journey through Kanto, but he remembered it as having happened only a couple years before the present day. Claire and Professor Elm were the only people from Johto that he had told about it, so the only others from the region who had any knowledge of his having traveled through were the members of the new Pokémon team he had caught there. Many of them were accompanying him on this trip.

The transport carried Jason across another ocean, and there was Hoenn. It was in these waters, at age 17, that Jason had met a Kyogre and captured it to save the region from a torrential rainstorm that had threatened to submerge the islands entirely. He had kept the legendary Pokémon for a short time and then released her upon her request, but first she had given him an egg that had hatched into the male Kyogre that was now a permanent member of his team.

He had not brought the young legendary with him because he was not battle ready, and because he wouldn't enjoy the mountainous geography and arid climate of the Nyor region.

The lights of Sootopolis glimmered up from the sea out of the ancient, hollowed volcano where Jason's summer house resided. He loved that city, with its beautiful courtship between nature and human history. If there were any place in the Pokémon World outside of Pallet Town that he would say felt like home, it would be there.

Jason swooped by the routes where he had caught the members of his two Hoenn teams and reminisced over the places where some of them had evolved. Finally, Hoenn's edge was upon him, and he was above the water again.

Two hours later, Jason saw where the moonlight stopped reflecting off the ocean. There it was. Nyor.

A region purported to be completely untouched by mankind, it was a nature preserve under the jurisdiction and protection of the neighboring country of Ere, further to the west. It was brimming with elemental energies and uncharted corners, and no one had ever set out to explore it. It was completely unknown.

And it would have been highly illegal for Jason to be there, had he not received special permission.

His heart pounded a little as he remembered his conversation with Silvia during the planning time for this trip.

"I know I don't need to say this, and I hate to sound this way, but if you get caught, you are in no way affiliated with Silph, right?"

"Not a problem. I agree that this needs to be done. Arceon brought up questions that need to be answered. I wouldn't be doing this if it was just for Leen, as much as I love him. But this could get us the information we need to prevent something like the A02 and Team Galactic incidents from ever happening again. I've decided I'm totally on board, and none of you will be implicated if Ere finds out I'm there. I was acting on my own, and I'll just get deported and that'll be that."

"You know I don't care about me. It's Stephen I'm worried about."

"I still can't believe he's putting his neck on the line for this."

"Yeah, well, we're keeping that on the DL, remember? If it gets back to me, _I_ was acting on my own."

"Well, hopefully they won't find me. Nyor is a big place, and they aren't even looking."

"Good thing you're as good as you think you are."

Jason had laughed after that, but knew that both of them had left their concern unspoken. It was a dangerous prospect. Some higher-ups in the Ere government had given Jason exclusive permission to research the region, but everyone on Jason's and Silvia's side of the operation had been given the distinct impression that not all the higher-ups knew about it.

Jason wasn't sure if Ere's Prime Minister knew about it.

The implication had been clear: If Ere's intelligence groups found out that Jason was in Nyor, those in the government who had given the go-ahead to the exploration mission would be forced to take action out of self-protection. There would be trouble for Silph Co. and for all of Kanto.

And that was for good reason.

"We're keeping this under wraps, Jason," Silvia had told him at the very beginning, "_Nobody_ knows about this. Nobody."

"And who isn't nobody?"

"Me. Five others. Including . . . ."

"Stephen?"

Stephen Hilks was the new, young, president of Silph who had taken over after the regime change that had taken place following the Arceon incident. He was as good-hearted as he was business savvy and proficient in politics.

"If he knew, it certainly wouldn't surprise me. If he were collaborating with me, that wouldn't surprise me either."

"I'll take that as a 'keep your mouth shut.'"

"Good," she smiled, "Then we're on the same page."

And having the majority of the corporation out of the know was wise. If anyone else at Silph found out that there was anything interesting in Nyor besides Silvia, Stephen, and the few that they trusted most, the corrupt board might turn the entire province into a marketing opportunity that would not only destroy the ecosystem of the nature reserve, but would develop bad rapport between Kanto and the already reticent Ereians. And worst of all, the world could wind up with another Arceon kind of problem on their hands.

Or they could wind up messing with the secretive Leen population in the jungles of Northeastern India. Even though the continental government wouldn't allow it now, with enough pressure, big businesses could move politics, and Stephen, Silvia, and Jason knew that, as did several of Silvia's trusted coworkers.

They were all trustworthy people that Silvia had put her money on to do the right thing and preserve Nyor's peace and ecological stability while learning as much from the region as possible. The last thing anyone needed was another part of the world with big towers and machines. Especially ones that were sucking evolutionary energy resources dry to create the ultimate fighting being or some other such nonsense.

No, the _last_ thing they needed was for dangerous information to fall into the hands of people like Team Rocket, who _would_ exploit the region here and now, in any way they could.

And both Jason and Silvia had met enough of both those types of people—the scientists overstepping their bounds and the criminally insane—to last a lifetime.

_This is probably a bad idea_, Jason thought. He knew he would be looking over his shoulder the entire time. And Silvia would be, too, any time he contacted her.

But if they could keep it quiet, find out what they needed to know, and give Stephen time to consolidate his control of whatever operations would arise, they could manage the research and development well enough to bring forth beneficial technologies without allowing the creation of the dangerous ones.

Jason hoped the mountains beginning to fill up his window were cultivating harvests of fruit and not of thorns.

And then he was there. The moonlight showed Nyor as an endless range of mountains. The peaks rose up abruptly out of the sea and continued on for miles. He had been told that when morning came, they would stretch even beyond the horizon.

Finding elemental energy deposits like the Moss and Ice Rocks in Sinnoh would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Jason set his transport down in a secluded crag, shifted it into stealth mode, and got to work packing.

He expected to spend several months here, and from what Silph knew about Nyor, there was little vegetation, so they had stocked him up with protein bars and canned goods to save space.

He couldn't risk flying around the whole time. Ere might have radars or other sensors that would pick him up if he did too much of that. Instead, he would stuff his backpack with a sleeping bag, a small tent—really just a pop-up shelter—and enough food for a couple weeks, head out for seven days, and then backtrack and try a new direction. If nothing in the area seemed to jump out at him or his equipment, he would move the transport to another location and start scouting again.

Jason had decided that since there would be so much hiking on rough terrain, he would rotate his teams and let out a few Pokémon at a time so the others could rest in case something serious came up. His years of traveling and battling both with Pokémon and in his home Universe had not taken away his adventurous spirit, but they had taught him some important lessons about wisdom and practicality.

Such as _you can never overestimate the unknown_.

He quickly changed from his T-shirt into a warmer and sturdier camouflage shirt and jacket. He was far enough from the ocean that the air didn't smell salty, but he could still hear the waves, and the proximity to the water plus the altitude made it a bit chilly, even at this latitude.

Next, he removed his tennis shoes and laced up a pair of hiking boots. Specially designed by Silph, this one pair should last the many weeks he would be spending on the rocky heights.

Finally, Jason strapped on his most important set of equipment: his Pokéball belts. With one around his waist and two making an X across his chest, he looked like he was carrying ammo packs, which he thought was kind of fun. And with 30 Pokémon, including Leen, he really didn't have an alternative.

From Johto, there was Flamia, his Typhlosion, a female, and the leader of his Johto Top 6. She had been slow to evolve, but had always been formidable in both physical strength and fire attacks, and she was now at a strength almost comparable to that of his Kanto team. Then there was Nightwing, Jason's Crobat—a male—and his fastest Pokémon; Eggy, Jason's Togekiss—male— sweet and playful, and one of the Normal types he liked to use when he needed a safe, resilient fighter; Sphya, a female Espeon and one of the few Psychic types on his team; Bubbles, a guts-and-glory, male Poliwrath Jason had brought from Kanto that had added an essential balance in his strategy in Johto; Sprout, a female Victreebel who had an almost-friendly rivalry with Bubbles over who was the strongest; Big Red, a shiny, male Gyarados who had been untrusting at first but was now friendly to most and fiercely loyal to his trainer. Jason had captured and befriended him, and he had often rotated out with other members of his Johto Top 6—really a Top 7. Jason had brought them on his trip through Sinnoh, and had enjoyed getting to know them better. They were all looking forward to spending some more time together in Nyor.

Jason had also brought two teams from Hoenn. His first Hoenn team consisted of: Flambo, his Blaziken—male—a noble soul with a dutiful spirit and a playful side whose power matched that of most of his Kanto Top 6; Armos, a female Aggron who was tough but tender and an absolute tank in battle, having trained to withstand even some pretty powerful fire attacks; Wolfen, a male Mightyena who was a fierce warrior and a loving friend whose lack of sheer power was made up for by her resiliency and endurance; Marvin, a male Gardevoir, extremely intelligent, witty, and good-humored, and Jason's most powerful Psychic type; Blue—male—, Jason's silly but mighty Azumarill; Gem, a mischievous and constantly pondering Sableye, also male.

After Johto, Jason had returned to Hoenn to train a second championship team: Metatak, a Metagross who had been a gift from Steven Stone, the Champion of Hoenn's Elite Four and a friend he had met during his first journey there; Cinder, a female Ninetales who acted as the nurturing leader of her team; Goldwave, a male Lanturn with a quiet, but playful personality whose dual Electric and Water types provided an excellent edge in certain battles; Sky, a male Altaria whose cute, friendly personality belied some terrible Dragon powers; Tropius, a quiet, sweet-hearted female, and another whose dual types—Flying and Grass—provided some unique advantages; Castform, an enigmatic Pokémon with a single, powerful attack and some awesome weather-changing abilities.

Finally, Jason's Kanto Top 6, his most powerful fighters and oldest Pokémon friends. He kept them at the front of his belt for easy access; any of his Pokémon could handle themselves, but in a dire emergency, it would be one of these six that he would call on.

There was Sugar, his Blissey, who was extremely resilient to attacks but whose greatest strength lie in her Softboiled healing ability; Tulip—the only other female on the team—a Vileplume whom Jason had temporarily traded for his friend's Venusaur only to discover that after the trade, her powers had grown tremendously, evolving into Gloom and learning Petal Dance, making her his new battler to stand against Lorelai and Bruno's Water and Rock types; Elecuty, Jason's Raichu whose Electric powers were off-the-charts phenomenal; Crusher, a Golem who had been one of Jason's first captured Pokémon and had literally earth-shattering power; Freezy, Jason's second-most powerful Pokémon who could level Lance's team with the slightest lift of his wing; and finally, Char-Char, Jason's very first Pokémon, and one whose power was nigh untouchable.

Char-Char could stand toe-to-toe with Dragonites and legendary Pokémon like Moltres and walk out the victor—by a clear margin. He had special attacks that only some leagues allowed performed, including a new one that he had perfected just weeks ago. Jason had only gotten to test it out in one battle, just before coming on this trip, and they were anxious to put it to more use, but they knew they had to be careful because of how dangerous it could be.

It was time to get started. Jason selected three of his team leaders to begin the journey.

"Char-Char, Flamia, Flambo, I choose you!"

He tossed their Pokéballs out into the air. The containers popped open and returned to Jason's belt, leaving behind a Charizard with a shorter, rounded snout and unusually thick arms, a Typhlosion, and a Blaziken, all of whom would have looked incredibly intimidating to even the toughest of trainers.

"Hey guys! Ready to go!"

Jason's Top 6 Kanto Pokémon had learned to speak English, but they rarely did so, as Jason had developed the ability to understand their speech. So Char-Char responded with a growl that Jason knew meant, _Been looking forward to this for a long time!_ Flamia, Flambo, and Leen voiced their agreement.

And with that, the journey began.

After walking a few hours' distance from the transport, Jason spotted a nice little cave—more like a crag, really—for them to settle down in. It was a good distance up a stack of boulders, so Jason and Flamia climbed, while Char-Char and Leen flew (Char-Char offered Jason a ride, of course, but Jason wanted to get his blood pumping), and Flambo took a quick leap to the top.

They were surprised to find a dried-up bush outside, which Flamia used to start a fire.

They all snuggled up to go to sleep, but were soon stirred by a noise from outside.

Every ear in the cave perked up, and every eye was trained on the opening. Suddenly, there burst over the edge of the cliff a large figure—probably a Pokémon, Jason knew.

_Action already_, he thought, _Yup, figures_.

Char-Char intensified his tail light and pointed it toward the creature whose menacing eyes glared back at them. It was a Graveler. And it looked really, really angry.

_First strike_, Jason thought instinctively.

"Flamia, Flamethrower!"

It was a Rock type, so it had an advantage, but Jason knew his Pokémon's strength, and no wild Pokémon could withstand their attacks.

The Typhlosion's Flamethrower barreled down on the Graveler and consumed it with intense heat. When the flames let up, Jason expected it to fall over.

To his shock, the soot blackened hunk of rock still stood snarling at them. Its growl intensified and its eyes grew angrier as its feet shifted slightly.

It was about to lunge, Jason realized in the split second before it was too late. Unfettered by surprises due to his vast experience in combat, Jason knew they needed to turn up the heat, and fast.

Not one to take risks, Jason quickly said, "Char-Char, Blast Burn!"

A wave of fire that could have razed a forest streamed from the lizard Pokémon's mouth.

The Graveler was stopped mid-charge, looking a little surprised. Apparently, it had never face opponents this tough before.

But it did not go down.

Jason was stunned. It should have been a one-hit KO.

And that's when he knew that they had to get out of the way. Now.

Before he even yelled, "Move!" his Pokémon had split directions to run around the Graveler and reach the edge of the cave.

Flamia picked up Jason and tossed him on her back as she bounded down the boulders to more stable ground. Leen was flying right behind them, and Char-Char and Flambo were bounding off to their right.

The space below would allow for more maneuverability during the fight, but for a split second Jason wondered why Flamia had put him on her back. Jason had been expecting a projectile attack—it's what he would have done had he been in the Graveler's shoes, and he figured such a tough opponent would have the experience to know that would have been the best strategy against the opponents he was facing. Jason trusted Flamia's judgment, so he ascertained that she would not have put him atop her unless she knew that he needed to get down the boulders faster, and that there were no rocks on their way toward the back of their heads.

That meant either the Graveler was tackling, or . . . .

As soon as Flamia hit level ground, the earth starting shaking violently. Jason jumped off to give her room to move.

Without warning, he felt the ground give way beneath him, and his feet slipped into a hole of unknown depth. He grabbed hold of the lip of the fissure that had formed beneath him and prayed the wall wouldn't break.

Flambo was already responding to the Earthquake attack with a Blaze Kick on the Graveler's body, and Char-Char swooped in to lift Jason out of the hole.

Before his feet even touched the ground, Jason shouted to the recovering Blaziken and the Typholosion who was already charging back into the fight, "Flambo, Blaze Kick again, and Flamia, Mega Punch! Take it _down_!"

Char-Char glanced around for more attackers, and when he saw none, he lifted up into the air and prepared another Blast Burn in his gut.

But the extra firepower would not be necessary. Upon the impact of fist and foot there was a crackle of sparks. The Graveler shuddered for a moment and then went down.

Leen fluttered down next to Jason, and everyone breathed heavily for a few moments, a little shaken.

"Good job, guys," Jason finally said, "Wow, he was tough. I'm glad you fought together. Any one of you guys could have handled him, but as tough as he was, it's good that you saved your strength. There might be more like that out here."

Jason hoped not. But as this was uncharted territory, a wild land brimming with raw, elemental power, it wouldn't surprise him.

_At least not a second time!_ He smirked to push past the nervousness.

The danger having passed, the scientist in Jason had to know this Pokémon's statistics. He shook off the jelly in his legs—he hadn't felt anything but confidence in battles for a while, so it was simultaneously concerning to see that he could still be shaken and a healthy reminder that he was only human and needed to be dependent on God—and trotted over to the cliff again. He climbed the boulders—carefully, because the Earthquake had shaken them up—, and pulled out his Pokédex as he stood over the unconscious Graveler.

His eyebrow cocked and he tried unsuccessfully to give a low whistle through dry lips. He laughed at himself before scrolling down the page.

Jason's Kanto Top 6 were registered at level 100, but their real power was somewhere around what would be level 130-140. Char-Char would probably be at level 150 by now.

This Graveler's individual stats were not nearly as high as Jason's strongest Pokémon, but its brute level score was almost as far off the charts as theirs were. The modified program he had installed in the Dex put it at level 120.

Some members of Jason's Johto team and second Hoenn team were at level 70 or so.

They would not have been able to win against this Graveler. A wild Pokémon would have beaten some of the toughest fighters in the Pokémon League, and it wasn't even fully evolved.

"Nyor looks like it's going to be an interesting place," Jason quipped.

Char-Char snorted and replied in his Pokémon language, "Should we stay here or move on?"

"I say we move," Jason responded, "We don't know their behavior patterns," he said, referring not just to Nyor Gravelers, but to all the Pokémon here.

Char-Char nodded, "They could be drawn to the fire. Curious. Or just wanting to fight. This one seemed to."

"Territorial?" Jason asked, knowing that didn't quite add up with the way the Graveler had looked.

It had seemed downright vicious. Like it didn't just want them off its property, more like it didn't want them to _exist_. Still, in a region untouched by humans, Pokémon might just handle territory disputes with a completely different psychology.

Char-Char shook his head to confirm Jason's suspicions.

"No. It was more than that. It was . . . I can't put my finger on it. But that was weird."

"Phlo," Flamia said in agreement.

"Okay," Jason said, "Then let's head out."

After grabbing their gear and glancing at their fallen attacker one last time, the group headed north. Jason wisely decided to pull out the rest of his Kanto team for extra precaution.

That night, they were able to find another spot to rest. He and his Pokémon all took shifts keeping watch this time, but there were no more eventful occurrences.

In the morning, Jason got to work setting up tripods with scanning equipment to check the ground and the surrounding area for signs of elemental energy stores while his Pokémon half stood guard and half helped him out. They would be doing this for the remainder of their stay in Nyor, and hopefully they would be able to discover the answers they were looking for.

The first full day passed by uneventfully. So did the second. The third day, however, they received another surprise visitor, this time a Vileplume.

"Whoa, guys," Jason said to Sky, his Altaria, and Sprout, his Victreebel, who were out of their Pokéballs, "Let's let Flamia handle this one. I don't want any risks, or any Stun Spores."

Flamia, already out of her Pokéball as well, had discovered some berries that the group had harvested earlier that day. The Pokédex had said that not only were they safe to eat, they would raise a Pokémon's special attack. It was time to put them to the test.

Jason had already decided that he would train all of his on-hand Pokémon during this trip to get as close to his Kanto team's strength as possible. They might need the firepower if they were to run into more Pokémon like the Graveler as Jason expected they would.

His Pokédex now told him that the Vileplume before him was comparable in strength to the Graveler they had faced before.

No holding back, then.

"Flamia, Fire Blast!"

A star-shaped burst of fire shot toward the Vileplume. The Grass Pokémon tried to dodge, but got hit head on. Scorched and enraged, it began charging up a Solarbeam.

"Bad news! Get it with another Fire Blast!"

Flamia shot another star at the Vileplume, and this time it was stronger. A critical hit left the Vileplume unconscious, and the deadly Solarbeam unfired.

Jason breathed a sigh of relief.

The following day, they were attacked again. This time, it was a Rhyhorn, and it was even stronger than the Graveler and the Vileplume.

Knowing he couldn't rely on his Kanto team or his leaders the entire time, Jason called out Bubbles, Blue, and Tropius.

Blue, the Azumarill, started off with an Ice Beam which the Rhyhorn nimbly dodged. The Pokémon lunged straight for Blue, but was caught in the side by Bubbles' Hydro Pump.

Surprisingly unscathed, the Rhyhorn continued its charge, and although Blue leapt out of the way, it struck a glancing blow on his arm.

"Mariiiiill!" Blue cried, flying a short distance to the side before hopping to his feet.

"Blue! Heads up!"

The Rhyhorn was charging again, and Jason had instructed Tropius to charge a Solarbeam.

"Bubbles, Hydro Pump! Tropius, cancel the Solar Beam and give me a Magic Leaf. Aim for its face!"

The homing leaves collided first, hitting the Rhyhorn in its eyes and temporarily obstructing its vision. The Hydro Pump, full force, smacked into its side, and it roared in frustration.

"Turn it around!" Jason shouted to his Poliwrath.

Bubbles moved the Hydro Pump's stream to the Rhyhorn's hindquarters and spun it in a quarter circle before it regained its vision. In the split second it took to gain its bearings, Jason had two Ice Beams on the Rhyhorn, followed by a Solarbeam.

Jason thought that would have finished it.

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

The Rhyhorn shook itself furiously and stomped the ground, and then kicked up several large, broken fragments of earth at Blue's head. Blue jumped, but a second Rock Throw struck him in midair.

Tropius swooped down and cut a third Rock Throw with a Razor Leaf, grabbing Blue out of the air with her mouth and tossing him on her back.

That gave Jason an idea. The Rhyhorn couldn't hit them if they were out of range, and Ground attacks wouldn't work against flying opponents at all.

"Great idea, guys! Freezy, come on!"

Jason threw the Ultra Ball containing his Articuno.

"Freeeeee! Cooooo!" shouted the powerful legendary bird.

"Bubbles, get on Freezy's back! All of you, target Rhyhorn with your most powerful attacks! Bubbles and Blue, nonstop, Freezy, alternate with Tropius while she's charging up Solar Beam!"

Blue launched a concentrated Blizzard, while Bubbles fired Hydro Pump. Freezy's own, devastating Blizzard and Tropius's Solar Beam took turns pounding their foe. Rhyhorn was able to launch one Earthquake with no effect other than causing Jason to dodge to the side to avoid the cascade of rocks that launched his way. After that, he collapsed.

"Okay," Jason said, "Great job. We'll need to stick to weaker attacks from now on to save the strongest ones for emergencies. Let's rotate out so you guys can rest."

But Blue was saying something.

"Huh?"

Tropius landed so Jason could hear. Freezy and Bubbles soon followed.

Blue was animatedly pointing to the north with his good arm. The other, Jason noticed, wincing a little, had a nasty bruise beneath the blue fur.

"You saw something over there? Was it another Pokémon?"

But Blue looked too happy for him to be communicating another impending battle.

"Fire?"

Jason thought Blue may have spotted a fire Pokémon at first, but apparently he had seen what looked like a natural fire. The Pokémon flew ahead, leading Jason for a while across several small peaks and then up a taller one.

"Huh," Jason said as he topped the ridge, "That looks promising."

There, in the distance, was a column of smoke. He didn't know what it was, but it was the first interesting thing they had seen besides the over-powered Pokémon that were apparently more common than not in this neck of the woods.

Leen, who hadn't battled during their trip yet, hopped on Jason's shoulder.

"Wanna go see what it is?"

The group sounded their agreement.

A few days later they found their answer. As Jason swung his legs over some boulders and reached the top of the latest slope at sunset, his jaw literally dropped open.

There, in a small valley below them, less than a day's journey away in this land not trodden by human feet, were the window lights of a small town and several columns of smoke rising from their chimneys.

"Nyor sure is full of surprises," Jason breathed.


	3. The Hidden Village

**The Legend of Leen**

_**Chapter 2: The Hidden Village**_

The sun was setting when Jason and his team arrived at the village. That morning, before making the trek down into the valley, he had chosen Sphya, Sugar, Elecuty, and of course Leen for his on-hand Pokémon. Thankfully, the group arrived without any further attacks.

Hardly anyone noticed them walk into town at first. Everyone seemed to be busy rushing about with chores: milking Miltanks, retrieving Doduo eggs, and repairing houses. It surprised Jason how many Kanto/Johto Pokémon there were on this side of Hoenn. And with a large channel separating Hoenn from Johto, and an even larger one separating Hoenn from Nyor.

Jason wondered how they could have gotten here, but then he quickly realized that they must somehow have migrated to the islands in the distant past. But then, he thought, maybe the opposite could explain why Nyor Pokémon—or at least the ones he had encountered—were so strong. They could have migrated from Kanto/Johto and their offspring been imbued with the elemental powers of their new region.

But how could that be the case when all the ones he had encountered had been land-dwelling Pokémon, including Rock types?

And a town, here in a land where no human being was supposed to have set foot? It all only added to the mystery and reinforced Jason's hunch that the Ere government had things it wasn't telling them.

But why wouldn't they have mentioned a town if they knew the possibility that Jason might find it?

_So many questions_. _Time to get some answers_.

Jason was trying to figure out who to ask for help and _what_ to ask, exactly, when something caught his eye. In the middle of the town there was a stone statue of a Dugtrio set on a pedestal. As he and his team walked by a cabin, they all turned their heads to glance at it, and even Sphya's keen senses almost missed the boy coming around the other side of the house.

"Yon," the Espeon warned, a split second too late.

"Oof!" The boy grunted, dropping a bundle of logs he had been carrying.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" Jason exclaimed, stepping back from the impact and bending down to help pick up the fallen wood.

"Whoa, sorry!" The boy said apologetically, "Lemme get that stuff out of your way!"  
"Don't worry about it," Jason said with a friendly smile, glad that the boy wasn't angry at him.

"I guess I should watch where I'm going, huh?" The kid returned a sheepish grin.

As Jason stood with the bundle of logs in his arms, he noticed that the whole town was turning to stare at them.

He had wondered last night and on the way down the valley whether there were other towns like this or if the citizens lived in isolation. He was beginning to believe the latter because it was apparent that they didn't receive guests very often, if at all.

"So are you guys from Galaia?" Asked the boy, who looked about 13.  
"Galaia?" Jason asked, his original hypothesis refuted. "Where's that?"  
The boy's eyebrows shot up.

"You mean you're _not_ from Galaia? Where are you from, then?"

"Uh . . . long way," Jason smiled a little, unable to help feeling proud about just how far.

It probably wasn't every day that this kid—but really a young man, at his age—got to meet someone from another dimension.

"Ere?" the boy gawked. "Are you an explorer?"  
"Well . . ." Jason struggled to explain, "I'm from . . . it's kind of a long story. My Pokémon are from east of here," he said, not sure if people here would be familiar with the other regions, and not sure how to tell the boy he was from an alternate universe.

"_Hoenn_!?" The boy asked amazedly.

Wrong again. Apparently they _were_ familiar with the other regions. Then how were the other regions not familiar with them?

Jason decided to shift his assumptions a little bit.

"Some are from Hoenn, some from Johto, and some from Kanto. But this guy here," he motioned to Leen, who hopped onto his arm affectionately, "Is from somewhere else."

The boy's jaw dropped. "You've been to _Kanto_!? That's on the other side of the Big Island!"

Jason grinned broadly. "Yep. My name's Jason. This is Leen, Sphya, Sugar, and Elecuty," he introduced the Pokémon currently with him.

"Wow, those Pokémon really are from all over the world!" he exclaimed, "A Blissey! Wow!"

Jason tried to remain humble as the kid's exuberance sent a surge through him.

"My name's Benjamin, sorry," the boy continued, trying to shake Jason's hand but almost dropping the wood again in his excitement.

Jason leaned in to help him steady himself.

"Ben, watch what you're doing!" Came a stern voice. "Clumsy kid."

An unshaven, middle-aged man with dark hair walked up to them. Jason watched as Ben's eyes sunk for a moment.

"Oh, no, it's okay," Jason said quickly, flashing Ben a smile, but the younger man was too busy looking at the ground to notice, "I ran into him. It was my fault."

"Affar," the man introduced himself gruffly with a firm handshake. "What brings you to these parts?"

"I'm kind of exploring," Jason explained, "These are my Pokemon, and—"

"You a hunter?" Affar interrupted.

"A . . . no, a hunter?"

"We got hunters coming in here recently. Bad idea. The last two got themselves killed. It's dangerous around here."

"_Pokémon_ hunters?" Jason asked.

"What else would they be hunting?"  
"Wait, you mean, like, trainers? Catching Pokemon? Or—"

"I mean _hunting_ them. With weapons."

Jason and all his Pokémon recoiled a bit. He had met people that exploited Pokémon for profit, and that was bad. But was this man saying that people actually . . . _killed_ them? Pokémon were sentient creatures, not animals. That didn't even make sense.

"Don't act like you've never heard of such a thing," Affar said accusatorily, eyeing Jason's taken-aback expression with cynicism. "That won't work with me."  
Jason shakes his head. "I _haven't_ heard of anything like that. That's sick. I can give you my word that I would never do anything like that."

"But is your word good enough?"

Jason was stunned. There was a clear distinction between Ben's demeanor and Affar's. Were all the older people in this town so untrusting? Jason had watched movies where small-town communities acted this way, and he had even experienced it with aliens on other planets, but it was weird to see members of his own species treating him this way.

Was Affar just unusually distrustful? If not, he couldn't imagine what these people had to have been through that would cause them to be so wary of strangers.

Jason instantly removed his pack and handed it to Affar. Leen fluttered to the opposite shoulder to avoid the straps. Then, Jason spread his arms wide in a gesture of vulnerability.

"I have no weapons. You can see the Pokéballs on my belt and bag; I have 30 of my friends here from Hoenn, Johto, and Kanto. I'm a trainer, not a hunter, and I'm from the parallel world of Earth. I've come to Nyor to explore, to discover new Pokémon and new forms of evolution."

Jason didn't mention Silph Co. because he didn't want to worry them about a large company coming in and trashing their countryside. Nor did he want Silvia and her colleagues in trouble with Ere if it turned out that these people were in touch with the government there, after all.

Affar looked through the pack, but Jason could tell that the man was already relaxing his guard. Jason breathed a sigh of relief as Affar nodded.

But Affar still pressed a little further to be sure of Jason's motives.

"So you're trying to get stronger, huh? Capture some new Pokemon? I thought real trainers only traveled with six Pokemon."

"I'm not really looking to capture, and I'm done with my training days for the most part. I'm actually here for this little guy," Jason ruffled Leen's soft neck feathers affectionately, "He wants to evolve, and I think this region may hold the key to helping him."

Benjamin's eyebrows had shot up again when Jason mentioned his home being in the parallel dimension. Now, they furrow and his head tilted to one side.

"That looks an awful lot like the bird from Grandpa's painting."

Jason's heart began to race as the statement registered.

"You've seen this Pokémon before?"  
Affar nodded, "It does look somewhat like it, now that I think about it."

Jason was happy to see that Affar trusted him enough to try and sound friendlier now, rather than trying to scare him away.

"His name is Leen. That's the name of his species, too."

"Leen!" Leen chirped happily.

Affar nodded, his demeanor softening reluctantly. He turned to Ben.

"Ben, I'll take care of this stuff," he said, returning Jason's backpack and taking the wood. "Take Jason and his Pokémon to your house and get your sister to make them some dinner."

The sun had almost set, and oil or gas streetlamps began to come to life. Now Jason could hear the murmurs as he walked by the crowds of people. They were asking about him and commenting on his Pokémon.

It was funny because the adults were asking the kids what Pokémon they were. Maybe they had radios here or something, and the kids were into listening to the matches just like kids around the world watched them on TV. If they knew about Pokémon and trainer rules in places outside of Nyor, they had to have some kind of contact with the outside world. Probably through Ere.

Jason wondered if they had ever heard his battles on the radio. It would have been a long time ago; he hadn't been in a Pokémon tournament for years now.

On the way to the house, Jason tried asking Ben questions about the town and its inhabitants to get him to cheer up, as well as to get some information.

The town was called Borom. Apparently, the larger town of Galaia lay to the northwest, and settlers from there had traveled out here in an attempt to reach the sea about two centuries ago. The terrain to the east was even more treacherous and impassable, and the Pokémon attacks were just too vicious.

They had wandered around the area as winter approached, finding little streams and food sources to survive off of, but knowing that they wouldn't last for long. They eventually discovered that for some reason, the Pokémon didn't come into this little cleft. Their leader used his Dugtrio, named Borom, to dig a hole into an underground spring far beneath the mountains and make a well.

Jason thought it was neat that they had named their town after the Pokémon that had saved them.

"The people brought lumber from a small forest northeast of here, and they started the town here," Ben explained.

Jason had seen some dark patches in the distance on the way down this morning that he had thought might be a forest. He had figured that was where the town got the wood to make the cabins. But it was an awfully long way off.

He was about to ask how they defended themselves when they went to the forest for lumber, but then they arrived at Ben's house. Jason returned all his Pokémon to their Pokeballs, except, of course, for Leen.

"Shelly," Ben called, "Whatcha makin? We're gonna need a LOT more of it."

Jason crossed the threshold and peered around at the house's interior. To the right was a quaint little living area with two, wooden chairs and—to Jason's amazement—what looked like an old television.

To the left was a kitchen. There, a tall girl with shoulder-length brown hair turned around. She looked to be in her late teens, and she was very pretty.

Her viridian eyes met Jason's for an instant. At first, they were curious, but then something registered, and a strange look flashed across them—he couldn't tell what it was—and then they turned cold. She turned around, flushed, and didn't say anything for a second, just went back to stirring something in a pot.

"One more pile of crap coming right up," she said.  
Wow. That wasn't standoffish at all. Jason smirked a little. It was nice to find girls like this every once in a while. They made life interesting.

"Gee, _that's_ polite," Ben mumbled, and as Shelly whirled around to respond, he continued, "C'mon, I wanna show you downstairs."

Jason followed him, throwing a sympathetic shrug in Shelly's direction. The girl rolled her eyes for a reason Jason couldn't figure and spun around to the stove again.

There was no dividing wall between the kitchen and the living room, but at the back of the house were two doorways. The one on the left had no door and led into a hallway that Jason guessed contained bedrooms and a bathroom. The one on the right had a door with a simple, wooden, turning knob. This Ben opened to reveal a winding staircase.

The stairs creaked as they descended, and at the bottom Ben opened another door to the basement. He flipped on a little switch on the wall, and a dim lamp flickered to life. There were no wires connecting to it, only metal tubes.

"There are natural gas deposits underneath the town," Ben explained as he saw Jason glancing at the tubing, "Over the generations, Galaia caught back up with us and we started trading supplies. They're a much bigger town than us, so we rely on them for modern conveniences like the metal for the tubes and our TVs and stuff."

"So do you guys have any contact with the outside world? Or is it just through television?" Jason asked, looking around the room.

It was basically a little study. There were some comfortable chairs and bookshelves lining the walls. The light wasn't very good for reading, though.  
Ben winced a little bit. "We're not allowed to leave the town. It isn't safe. The adults go to the forest to chop wood—that's where my granddad is right now—and sometimes people go to Galaia. But I've never gotten to leave."

Jason felt a twinge of sympathy. He knew what he would've been like had he been in that situation: _Take me with you, pleeeease!_

"Well, I can tell you about trainer stuff if you want," Jason offered, unsure if that would make Ben feel better or worse, "I've had some pretty cool experiences that might be better than just what you get to see on TV."

Leen cooed in agreement.

Ben brightened up considerably. "Man, I would love that!"

They sat down in a couple of rocking chairs, and Jason told Ben about his first Pokémon adventure in Kanto, battling the Elite Four. Ben was asking lots of questions, and he wanted to hear more, so Jason told him about meeting Ash Ketchum, and about his adventures in the Parallel World. He had almost gotten to the search for the Second Mediator Crystal and meeting Leen, when footsteps sounded on the stairs.

"Dinner's ready," Shelby said impersonally, "There won't be enough for all your Pokémon, but you and he should be okay."

With that, she marched back upstairs.

Jason felt awkward, but Ben didn't seem uncomfortable.

"Sorry," Ben said.

Jason wanted to know why she was upset—she had seemed stressed from the minute he walked in the door, but especially so after seeing him. He didn't know what to make of it, but he didn't want to pry if it was something personal.

"Come on," Ben was saying, "Let's get some food. We can talk more upstairs."

They sat down to eat what was some kind of broth with potatoes. It wasn't great, but Jason didn't say anything. Shelby wasn't there; she must've taken the food to her room.

"So where are your parents?" Jason asked, trying to make more conversation, "Is . . . what was his name, Affar? Is he your dad?"

Ben frowned and turned away. "No," he said quietly, "My parents are dead. Affar's my uncle. My grandfather is raising us now."

Leen stopped eating and furrowed his brow in sympathy.

Jason's heart melted.

"I'm so sorry," he said softly, "I didn't mean to bring up a touchy subject."

Ben nodded, clearly trying to maintain control of his emotions.

Jason never knew what to say in these situations. He guessed no one did.

"Do you . . . want to talk about it? I don't know if that would help, but . . . I can listen if you need me to."

Ben bowed his head and pushed his bowl away, a thin stream of tears easing its way down his cheeks. He spoke quietly, but his voice was steady.

"They were killed by Pokémon, saving a little girl from Galaia. They were there to get supplies, and she was playing, chasing her Pokémon around . . . a Bunneary, I think. Anyway, she . . . Galaia is safe because it's built into a mountainside, and she ventured too far out from the city. The adults didn't have time to spray themselves with the Repel that we use when we travel outside the towns. A bunch of Weezing came out of some caves and they were gassing her. One tried to hit her. My parents got in there and fought them off and handed her to her dad, and he took her and ran. But the Weezing got mad and knocked my parents out as they were leaving, and . . . that was it."

His voice started to falter at the end. Jason pushed his chair aside and knelt by Ben, laying a hand on his shoulder. The boy exhaled sharply, just for a moment, and then he regained his composure.

Leen added a melodic note of condolence, hopping next to Ben and snuggling up next to him. Ben massaged Leen's neck feathers with a grateful smile.

"Thanks," he said, "Both of you. I'll be okay. My parents were heroes, and I couldn't be prouder of them. It's just . . . it was only three months ago, so . . . ."

Jason nodded. His parents were still alive, but he had been through grief before. Pain from the old days of serving in Ziton's military welled up in him.

"That's hard," he said, "When you lose someone."

Ben nodded, too. Jason gave his shoulder a squeeze and returned to his seat.

Leen cooed with a gentle smile, offering its support. Ben left his hand there, stroking the Pokémon's soft, golden coat.

"Okay, my turn again," Jason said, trying to lighten the mood. He was about to start a funny story, when the door to the cabin opened.

"Ben, we've got some logs for you to help—oh, hello there, didn't know we had company!"

A short, older man, about sixty or so, had walked in with a burlap sack slung over his shoulder. He had a kind, weathered smile that reminded Jason of Professor Oak.

"Hi," Jason stood up and introduced himself, "My name's Jason, I'm a Pokémon trainer traveling in the region. Sorry if I'm intruding or anything."

"Oh, no," the man's smile got even wider, "We're happy to have visitors. It's been a very long time indeed."

So maybe it was just Affar who was so cautious. Jason wondered why.

"Grandpa, aren't you forgetting to introduce yourself?" Ben joked.

"Oh, yes, yes, silly me! My name is William Stone, but you can call me Grandpa, too, if you'd like!"

"Leen!" Leen piped up with a self-introduction.

"Oh, we mustn't forget about you, little one!" Grandpa Stone reached out a hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance! I don't believe I've ever seen a Pokémon like this one. Is it newly discovered?"

"I actually discovered him several years ago, but most people don't know his species exists. I'm kind of keeping it a secret since there are so few left. As far as I know, he's the only one with a trainer."

"Fascinating. I believe you may have something common with us, then. May I ask what he's called? His species I mean. Or do you want to keep that a secret, too?"

Jason's ears perked up at the "something in common with us" part, but he decided to answer the question first.

"He's called a Leen. I can't reveal the location of their nesting grounds, but I can tell you that it's not in this dimension."

The old man's brow arched in surprise. "A Pokémon from Earth? How is that possible? I understood that Pokémon were encoded into the digital makeup of this Universe."

Wow. So these people _were_ in touch.

"Apparently, just as trainers can move from world to world, Pokémon can, too. My team and I have been doing it for years now. Although I'm not sure how the Leen got there."

"Then does the other world know about our world's existence? I understood that only the trainers who crossed over were familiar with Pokémon. But if Pokémon can travel to your world . . . ."

"My world doesn't know of this world's existence. When my Pokémon have crossed over, it's always been for very secret purposes. I don't go for joyrides on my Charizard . . . at least not in broad daylight."

"Then you're _from_ the other world?"

"Yes," Jason affirmed, "I've used my Pokémon to defend people in certain situations. I used to be involved in a sort of secret peacekeeping organization."  
By now, Jason was used to explaining in general what he had spent much of his childhood doing, without going into unnecessary detail. It was weird enough being from another dimension. Letting strangers know you were once trained as a secret super soldier for the military of another planet was often a little hard for them to swallow.

"I see," Stone said.

There was a brief silence as the grandfather stared at the golden bird perched atop his table. Their eyes met for a moment, and it seemed something hypnotic was passing between them.

"Hey!" Ben exclaimed, "I almost forgot! The reason I wanted to show you the basement in the first place. Grandpa, can you show him that painting you have? The one of the rainbow bird?"

Stone cocked his head in thought. "I suppose I _could_ . . ." he trailed off. "Well, yes, I suppose I could."

_Wonder what that's about_, Jason thought.

The trio walked downstairs, and Stone led them to a portrait on the right wall that Jason hadn't noticed before. It was kept in a simple, wooden frame with a glass covering, which was a good thing because the painting didn't seem to be in very good shape. It was peeling and cracked at the edges, and the color was fading. It looked like it was over a hundred years old—and had seen some weather.

But the figure in the painting was unmistakably a bird Pokémon that closely resembled Leen. It had the same set of three long, loose feathers sticking out the back of its head, and the same three, flat tails that trailed behind it, making it reminiscent of a small Articuno with more flowing features rather than sharper ones. The difference was that this Pokémon was not gold. Instead, its feathers were a myriad of colors.

"In Galaia, they call it the Rainbow Pokemon," Stone said, "Most people think it actually represents many of the Legendary Birds that we see in these mountains from time to time."

Legendary Birds! There it was: confirmation that the sightings had been legitimate!

Leen hopped up on Jason's arm to have a look. He glanced at the painting, and then at his own body a few times, trying to compare them.

"The beak is longer," Jason noted, "But that could just be the artist. Who painted it?"

"My great grandfather," said Stone, "And his wife took it with her when she brought her children here. She was part of the group that founded this town."

"I told him about the migration," Ben said.

Stone nodded. Ever since looking at Leen he had seemed to be deep in thought. Now, he was choosing his words very carefully, like a scholar, Jason thought.

"There is a legend," he said, "That a mountain in this region of the world was the birthplace of Moltres, the Legendary Bird of fire."

Jason's heart jumped.

"It's not unlikely, either. Once, about thirty years ago, two men came looking for rare Pokémon. They were excited to hear about that mountain, and they ventured off to find it. One of them returned two months later, claiming to have seen it, but the other man had died in the journey. The first man left again after that, hoping to find more legendary Pokémon, and we never heard from him again."

"Was he one of the hunters Affar mentioned?"

"What? Oh, no, no. Those were men who had been coming from the islands—mostly the Johto region—in the past two years or so. The last time a group came was about two months ago. Affar and some others went out with their Pokémon to deter them, but all they found were . . . remains."

"I've noticed that the Pokémon in Nyor seem to be able to handle themselves quite well."

"Indeed," Stone replied grimly, "More so now than ever. They've not only gotten stronger in the last few years, but more violent as well."

Ben turned away at that. Jason felt another pang of hurt for him and his sister.

"I'm sorry if Affar was cross to you," Stone continued, "He's concerned about your safety as well as the respect we should show to the Pokémon that live among us in this world."

Jason nodded his agreement and turned back to ponder the painting some more.

"We sometimes see other birds in the sky," Stone continued, "My grandson, when he was very young, claimed to see a great, golden bird that, after watching television and learning about the different types of Pokémon, he believed was a gold-colored Ho-oh. I believe that that is possible."

"I came here to find a way to evolve Leen," Jason said, "We know he's capable of evolution, and there's a lot of elemental energy in this part of the world. I've heard the reports of Legendary Birds here, and I think this may be where Leen can evolve into one of them."

Grandpa Stone nodded. "Then you may want to travel to Galaia. This picture was painted based on an ancient stained-glass window there. You may find more about the history of this region and the legendary birds there. You'll also find people there who are more knowledgeable about the Nyor region, who might know where the fire mountain is. But I have something else to show you."

Stone walked over to a bookshelf, and Jason followed. He pulled out a dusty photo album, sat down in a chair, and flipped it open. Inside were black and white pictures of what looked like ancient, stone carvings.

"Arcticuno," Jason pointed at one, "You can tell by the head crests."

"Is that one Regigigas?" Benjamin tapped one.

Jason perused the photo in question. "It looks like it could be. Or one of the other Regis."

"These were also taken in Galaia, some by my great grandfather, and some by my grandfather as a boy."

Jason saw Moltres, Ho-oh, and Zapdos, along with some other birds that could have been Pidgeot or Staraptor, or maybe different Pokémon entirely. There was one carving that was clearly an ancient Mew.

"When were they carved, do you know?"

"Millenia ago."

"Millenia. That means . . . maybe Legendary Pokémon were legendary even back then."

"Or perhaps they were simply more common."

Jason frowned. "What do you mean?"

Stone shook his head. "Nothing, nothing. Just another theory."

Jason shrugged. "I'm all ears. I'm just kind of exploring all the possibilities at this point."

"Well," said Stone, "I only meant to say that sometimes people take notice of spectacular things, but they also take notice of things that contribute to their lives in great ways just because of the quantity of services those things provide. Perhaps the Legendary Pokemon were special to them because they were part of their daily lives."

Jason nodded. "That makes sense."

There was a lull in the conversation. Then Jason had to ask.

"If the bird in the painting represents many Pokémon, and it's symbolized by only one . . . do you think they could all come from the same Pokémon? I mean, do you think a Pokémon could evolve into many others like that?"

"Like an Eevee?" Ben offered, "Only with a bird?"

Leen chirped in excitement at the possibility.

Stone revealed a very small smile. "That would be very interesting to find out. I don't think you should waste any time getting to Galaia."

Jason was excited. "I'll leave first thing tomorrow, if you'll let me stay here for the night," he caught himself being self-inviting and quickly corrected himself, "I mean, I'm sorry, I . . . would you mind? Sorry, I shouldn't have asked!"

"Of course," Stone chuckled. "We'd be happy to have you. If you don't mind staying down here, I can get my granddaughter to fetch you a pillow and some blankets."

Jason nodded. "That would be perfect. Thank you so much."

He was actually anxious to talk to Shelly if she'd let him. Maybe talk to her about whatever was making her want to be so standoffish. Something in the back of his mind told him that attempting to do so would only make things worse, but the problem-fixer in him wouldn't let him miss the opportunity. Plus, he was a believer in God, in Jesus Christ, and saw life's happenings as destiny. He had come to this town, this house for a reason, and that reason was to make a difference in the lives of the people here with whatever time he had with them.

"Can I stay and talk with Jason some more?" Ben asked.

"I think you need to get some sleep," Stone smiled, roughing his grandson's hair. "We still have that lumber for you and Donphan to move in the morning."

Ben sighed. "Okay. Well, it was nice to meet you, Jason. I hope I see you in the morning."

"Thanks, it was really great talking to you, too. And I'll be praying for your family about everything that happened. I don't know how much that means to you, but I know that God has a reason for all of it."

Ben nodded, and Jason wasn't sure how he took the statement, but it seemed positive. Jason hoped so.

Bidding one another goodnight, they all parted ways, but not before Grandpa Stone welcomed Jason to the books in his library, and the photo album, to study as he pleased.

A few minutes later, Shelly came down the stairs carrying stuff to sleep on.

"Here," she said, tossing him the pillow and covers without so much as looking him in the eye, "Good luck getting yourself killed tomorrow."

"Hang on a second," Jason said as she turned away.

She stopped at the steps and angled just enough so he could see her left eye. She didn't look at him. He knew he had to be careful here, so he prayed a quick prayer for wisdom.

"Did I do something to offend you earlier? I didn't mean to be upsetting."

"You didn't. We just don't like having company very much. Small town community and so on." She still hadn't turned completely to face him.

"Well, Ben and your granddad seemed to be okay with me. Are they just being nice?"

Shelly sighed and rolled her eyes. Now she turned around.

"We don't waste time leaving this town unless we need to for supplies. If you want to get killed, fine, but you come here and stir my little brother up wanting to leave here, and he's going to get himself killed, too. I think I have a right to be annoyed, because now I have to convince him not to run off and play make-believe games out in the hills where he'll get slaughtered by Pokémon."

"I'm sorry," Jason said, "I didn't mean to make him think that way."

_Even though he seems like a perfectly level headed kid and there's more to why you're angry than you're telling me. It's about your parents and you aren't dealing with your emotions._

The truth was, Jason had already started formulating plans to return to this town after his adventure ended and see if there was a way the adults would let Ben become a trainer in Kanto. Jason could see it in his eyes. He had the spirit of a trainer. The world needed kids like that, and he hated for someone with that much spirit and potential to be trapped in a little place like this when he wanted to be _out_ _there_.

"Well, you did," Shelly answered simply, "Enjoy your night."

She spun on her heels again and headed for the stairs.

"Shelly, I am sorry, and thank you for the blankets. I really appreciate the hospitality, and I'll be out of your hair soon, I promise."

She hadn't even stopped.

"Good," she called back from the top of the stairwell.

_Wow. That was rough_, thought Jason. But he had done his best and felt like he had at least planted a seed of kindness there that he knew God would use to help her deal with things regardless of whether Jason was present or not. He reminded himself of that, and it helped him not feel so bad that he wouldn't be able to spend time gaining her trust.

He and Leen stayed up reading for a while, but Leen soon started nodding off, so Jason called out Cinder, his Ninetales, to curl up with Leen in the corner.

One of the most recent editions to Jason's strongest bracket of Pokémon—recent being two years ago—, Cinder had a motherly, nurturing spirit that made Jason feel as warm inside as the flame that burned within her.

She had always been that way, even as a Vulpix, helping the other Pokemon in his second Hoenn team, taking care of them and using her strength to help them along in their training.

Even the other day, before the fight with the Vileplume, she had been the first to scavenge for berries for the rest of the group. She was a much-needed emotional boost at critical times, and his affection for her was nearing the level of tenderness he felt for those who had been with him since his first Pokémon journey through Kanto.

Speaking of Kanto . . . he needed to call Silvia.

"You better have a good reason for waking me up," she griped when she picked up the phone.

"I haven't given you my report yet."

"So you're not bleeding in a ditch somewhere?"

"Nope. But you're not gonna believe—"

"Then what are you waking me up for? We can do that in the morning. You call me at 2 am, I worry that this was an actual emergency, and what am I not gonna believe?"

"There's a town here. Two, actually. At least two. I forgot to ask if there were more."

Jason heard scrambling on the other end.

"Okay, I'm getting out of bed and turning the vid system on, but I swear if you say one word about my hair, I will _find_ a way to resurrect Arceon and put you in a private Universe with it and watch you burn."

"Okay, chill, I'm not gonna care."

The vid snapped on.

Jason pointed a finger and fake-laughed.

"You dirty—"

"Relax, you look fine."

"Anyway. Hair. I mean . . . Urgh! It's too late for this."

Now Jason really laughed.

"Town. Tell me about this town," said Silvia.

Jason proceeded to inform Silvia about Borom and Galaia, and about the painting and the possibility of Leen evolving into one or more Legendary Birds. He also told her about the Pokémon battles he had faced and how all three of the wild Pokémon's stats had been way off the charts. The only thing he left out was the story about Ben's and Shelly's family, since Ben had shared that in confidence.

Silvia shook her head in marvel. "Legendary Birds and super Pokemon . . . couldn't get much better than this."

Jason smiled. "It will if I can find a way for him to evolve," he nodded at the sleeping Leen. "Oh, and Silv? There's a kid here whose house I'm staying at. He really wants to be a Pokémon trainer if he ever got the opportunity. After we're done checking this place out, can we—"

"We'll work something out, if we can get the okay from the big boys."

Stephen could probably pull some strings to give Ben a shot at training as a career without causing too much of a stir in the press about his homeland. Until Ben got good enough to be publicly recognized, that is, but that was something they'd have to deal with if it came to it.

"Okay, thanks. Anything else I can tell you?"

"Not unless you think of anything. This mean I can go back to sleep now?"

Jason grinned. "Yup. Good night, Silv."

She flashed him a smirk. "Good night."

Jason nestled down in one of the chairs, exhaustion overwhelming his excitement at the prospects this strange land held. The last thing he remembered as he drifted off to sleep was an exciting image of a rainbow bird splitting into many colorful threads, and each of those threads becoming a new being in its own right. Some of them had names, too: Char-Char, Freezy, Tulip, Flambo, Cinder, Leen . . . .


	4. The Giant

**The Legend of Leen**

_**Chapter 3: The Giant**_

"_Char-Char, Ember!"_

_ "Ha! You're still trying the same useless strategy! You'll never get even close to the Pokémon League that way!"_

_ "Just you watch. We've been practicing."_

_ "Hmph. Geodude, Rock Throw."_

_ "Good job, Char-Char! Way to go!"_

_ "Dodged it. A _little_ quicker."_

_ "Char-Char, Ember!"_

_ "Geodude, Tackle!"_

_ "Char-Char, Ember!"_

_ "All-out attack won't—wha!? Geodude!?"_

_ "You did it! Alright, Char-Char! Now, this isn't over yet! Get ready for Onix!"_

_ "You might be able to win against a Rock Type with a lower level. But Onix is much stronger, as you've learned from your previous losses."_

_ "I know. We're ready this time, Brock. I'm getting that Badge, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."_

_ "No? Onix, Bind!"_

_ "Grr . . . Char-Char, hang on!"_

_ The match continued in earnest, often slowed by Onix's Bind. But slowly, the young Charmander whittled his opponent's defenses down as well. It was a neck-in-neck fight. Soon, both Pokémon were using the last of their strength._

_ "Char-Char, he's weakened! You've GOT to hang in there! You've GOT to!"_

_ "Onix, Bind again! Finish it!"_

_ "Nooooo!"_

_ "Chaaar!"_

_ "Keep binding, Onix!"_

_ "Char-Char, try to wiggle free! Come on, buddy, you can do it!"_

_ "Finish it!"_

_ "Char-Char, I know you can do it, we've come so far! You're strong! You're strong! I believe in you!"_

_ "Char! Man! Der!"_

_ "Great! Now give it the most powerful Ember you've got!"_

_ A critical hit. Now the Charamander has gained an advantage._

_ "Onix, Bind it again and don't let it get away this time! It's time to end this!"_

_ "Hah! Yes! Good jump! You can do it Char-Char! Ember! Finish it off!"_

_ "Ha. Another strong hit. I'll admit, this has been a great fight. You've come even closer than last time. But we're through here. Onix, Bind!"_

_ "Jump, now!"_

_ "Chaaar!"_

_ "Now, Ember!"_

_ "Chaaaaaaaaaar!"_

_ "Pour everything you've got into it!"_

_ "Wha—!? Onix, no!"_

_ "Grooooar . . . ."_

_ "Fine, finish it with Bide."_

_ "Groooooar!"_

_ "No . . . .please . . . . We've come so far."_

_ "Chaaaar! Man . . . der . . . ."_

_ "He's still standing, he's still standing! Char-Char, you're still standing! Haha! We've got this! One more Ember! Win! This! Fight!"_

_ "Charmandeeeeer!"_

_ "O-onix!"_

_ "Groooa . . . ."_

_ Onix fainted._

_ "YYYEEEEEEEESSSS! Weeee did iiiiiiit!"_

Shelly awoke in the middle of the night to a rustling noise across the hall. She slipped out of bed, smoothed her hair with her fingers and tiptoed over to Ben's room. Silently turning the knob and pushing the door ajar, she stopped and listened. The rustling stopped for a moment.

There was the sound of something soft scooting along the floor, and then bed springs bouncing and a scraping of wood. Shelly frowned and pushed the door open further.

"Couldn't sleep," Ben said, and then . . . "Oh, hey, Shelly, I thought you were Grandpa."

He was holding a small, wooden frame with a photograph of the four of them taken a few years ago: Ben, Shelly, and their parents. Shelly was holding a baby Nidorino, a present from her father on her birthday.

Shelly swallowed.

"What was all that noise?" she asked after pressing her leaking emotions somewhere deep inside her gut.

Ben stared at the wall for a long time.

Finally, he said, "Will you promise not to tell Grandpa something?"

"No," Shelly didn't even hesitate.

"Well . . . then never mind."

His cheeks turned beet red.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

"Ben, tell me. Maybe I can help—"

She was walking over to sit next to him, but she stopped when her foot bumped something under the bed. She reached down to pull it out.

"No, don't look under there!"

"Ben, move, let me see what's under here."

"Shelly!"

"Get out of the w—oh, you can't be serious."

Shelly had managed to lift up the covers and see what Ben had stuffed beneath his bed: a travel sack filled with changes of clothes, a little food, and a wooden carving of a Pidgeotto that their father had made.

"Ben! What were you thinking?"

"I'm leaving with Jason tomorrow morning. I want to become a Pokémon trainer."

Shelly's face boiled. "He told you to do this, didn't he? He asked you to come with him last night."

"No!" Ben defended his new role model, "He doesn't know yet. I'm gonna sneak off and meet him outside of town, please, you can't tell anybody!"

"Ben, are you out of your mind!?"

"I'll use Repel, I'll be fine," he argued.

"You don't even have any Pokémon to defend yourself with! Think, Ben!"

"I'll take one of the Torkoal Uncle Affar captured for the heaters. The young one that I've been hanging out with the past couple of months. They won't need him, and I've gotten pretty close to him. He listens to my—"

"Ben, _no_. Period." Shelly began to unpack his sack. "You're staying here."

"Shelly! Give me that!"

Ben was crying now. He squatted next to her and made a grab for the bag. Shelly jerked the sack away and dumped its contents onto the floor behind her.

"Shelly, please! I need to go to Galaia and—"

"Ben, _stop_. Now."

"I need to see that girl," he declared through his tears, "And tell her it's—"

"Ben, _stop_!"

"—okay and that it's not her fault that Mom and Dad were—"

Shelly grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "Stop it, do you hear me? The girl is fine, she's safe, and she doesn't need you to . . ." Her racing heart struggled simultaneously to contain her own anguish and to quickly come up with a reason Ben would accept to stay here.

" . . . Get yourself killed for her, too," she finished, "Is that what you want? For her to have someone else's death on her conscience?"

Ben was sobbing into his hands now. They were trying to speak in hushed tones so as not to wake their grandfather. Shelly definitely did not want him hearing about this. He had enough worries taking care of the two of them.

Shelly softened. "Ben, Grandpa needs you here. We need you to help run the town, and he's already lost his son and Grandma . . . we mean a lot to him. We need you to stay."

"But Jason could use the help." Now Ben was pleading, but with less enthusiasm. "He's gotta want company."

"He'll be fine. He has tons of Pokémon with him. He's got plenty of company."

"But he really seemed to like talking yesterday."

Now he was just grasping at straws. Shelly breathed a sigh of relief. He was coming back to reality.

"Ben, you need to stay here," Shelly said finally, "You and I will take care of each other. Maybe someday . . ." she hesitated because she knew how ridiculous it was, but she needed to give him something to look forward to so he would forget about this nonsense for now, " . . . you'll be able to leave this place and go to Kanto or Hoenn or somewhere and learn to be a trainer. But that won't be until you're older, okay? It's too dangerous to train here."

Now Ben was listening, wiping his eyes, so she continued.

"Jason had a lot of experience before he came here, and look how many Pokémon he brought with him. He knew how dangerous it would be. For now, you just need to stay in Borom and work on your training in town whenever you can."

As Shelly finished, Ben sighed in resignation.

Thankfully, he _was_ a smart kid and he knew she was right.

They stayed there for a while, until Shelly stood and placed an affectionate hand on his shoulder.

"Just try to get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay."

They traded goodnights, and Shelly returned to her room. But she did not go back to sleep. She was watching Ben's door. And crying. And thinking.

"How far is it?" Jason asked.

"'Bout two and a half weeks. It's a hike."

Jason shook off the mild dejection. He had known there would be a lot of walking when he came on this mission. And he had plenty of friends to keep him company. Still, after unexpectedly meeting a town full of people, he wished he had some human companionship.

But that wasn't going to happen. He wouldn't ask these people to go out of their way for him. He would just have to tough it out.

Affar had given Jason some extra food for the road, and some Pokémon food that Jason had placed in several of his item balls that he'd emptied during the walk here. It would be more than enough for the journey—the town of Borom was going out of its way to be gracious, and Jason was very appreciative. They also gave him six bottles of their special Repel. Each bottle was supposed to last two weeks, and it fended off all but the strongest wild Pokémon. Fortunately, Grandpa Stone had said, there weren't too many along the route that were that powerful.

"If I ever run into them, my team can handle it," Jason assured them, "We've already faced three battles on the way here, and we were able to manage."

Ben was there to see him off. Jason didn't know about his wanting to sneak off and follow him. He gave Jason a strong handshake.

"Good luck on your journey," he said.

"You too," Jason returned sincerely.

He called Sugar (his Blissey), Eggy (Togekiss), Flambo (Blaziken), Armos (Aggron), and Sprout (Victreebel) to join him and Leen. And with that, he was off.

A couple hours into the walk, there was a vibration beneath Jason's feet.

Jason turned to Armos. "Stepping a little heavy there?"  
The earth shook suddenly and violently, and Armos's eyes widened as she sensed the imminent danger. She shoved Jason and Sprout—the Pokémon nearest her—out of the way.

Jason landed painfully on the rocks, and the fear of an unknown threat washed over him. Before he was able to squash it beneath a determination to overcome this latest menace, the ground erupted a hundred yards into the air.

"GRRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRR!" Came an ear-splitting bellow from within the upward cascade of boulders. An enormous Onix had just launched itself from the ground.

Flambo leapt nimbly aside, and Sprout used his vines to propel himself away, but Eggy and Leen were sent spiraling through the air and struggled to upright themselves in flight. Jason instantly thought that they would probably sustain some nasty bruises, but fortunately he didn't see any rocks hit their heads.

Jason snapped into action, assessing the need for physical strength in this battle.

"Crusher, Metatak, go!" He shouted, releasing his Golem and his titanic Metagross.

The mouth of the cavity where the Onix had emerged ceased puckering and began to buckle, drawing the nearby earth into the widening underground tunnel. Sugar slipped and fell, and she began to roll back toward the hole from which the giant Onix had emerged.

"Victreebel, pull them in with vine whip!"

Victreebel acquiesced immediately, yanking Sugar, Leen, and the spiraling Togekiss toward himself.

Meanwhile, boulders tumbled from the sky. Thinking quickly, Metatak raised his body and produced a Light Screen so the whole group could squeeze beneath him.

Like a well-oiled machine, everyone immediately recognized the defense strategy and ducked and rolled under the Metagross. Everyone but Armos arrived, and Jason hadn't seen where she had gone. Probably got knocked onto the other side of the Onix. She had been right over it when it had hit.

Jason watched over Flambo's shoulder as Crusher lunged toward the Onix to begin a counterattack. He dropped into a Defense Curl when a particularly large boulder came down on him. He stood up and shook off the haziness as more of the Onix continued to rise from beneath the surface, towering higher and higher above them like a living, growing monolith.

And that was only the first few seconds of the fight.

It was then that Jason made an executive decision based on one of the most important principles he had ever learned about combat.

Don't take chances.

"Everyone out!" Jason shouted, and his Pokeballs sprang to life, "Eggy, Sky, use Whirlwind to clear this debris! Marvin, Sphya, get ready to retaliate! Everybody with wings, get to the sky and get a look at what's happening. Armos, you there? Wait, Tropius, you're with me."

The team went to work. Jason heard Armos's response roar from high in the sky, and then the sound drifted far away. Jason jerked his head up to see that the Onix had Armos in his mouth and was swinging her around wildly.

Soon, the Whirlwind cleared the dust, and Jason could see the full length of the beast that now clutched his struggling Aggron in its jaws.

It was enormous.

As long as a football field and nearly half as wide. And it was probably super-powered like the other Nyor Pokemon. A giant, super-powered Onix. This was not going to be an easy fight.

"We need Rock-strong Pokémon at the forefront!" Jason ordered, "Goldwave and Freezy, use your triple-threat tactic. The rest of you try to distract it!"  
The Articuno picked up Goldwave, Jason's Lanturn. The latter gushed out a Thunderbolt-charged Hydro Pump that combined with Freezy's Ice Beam to create a three-type attack that multiplied damage exponentially. Steam, ice, and plasma-charged water particles struck Onix's neck. It grunted as its jaw loosened, not enough to release Aggron, but the Aggron was able to reposition her hands and feet inside the giant's mouth.

Char-Char flew low, breathing fire as a distraction, saving his strongest attacks for when he better knew his enemy. He led Elecuty, Flambo, and Cinder to provide the necessary diversion while Marvin—Jason's Gardevoir—and Sphya—his Espeon—provided simultaneously a deflective defense and a supplementary, chip-away offense with their psychic energy waves.

Sableye and Wolfen—a Mightyena—joined them by launching dark-energy orbs at the target. All the while, they nimbly dodged the Onix's tail and body—it had begun to use Thrash—but Crusher took it head on, latching onto the rock snake and pounding Earthquakes into its side to help get Armos free.  
Armos finally managed to get a grip on both sides of the Onix's maw and pried herself free. Righting herself before she hit the ground, she took the impact with bent knees and a steadying arm. Redirecting the impact's energy into her other fist, she punched the ground launched a vicious Earthquake attack. Onix recoiled painfully.

"Meta, not yet!" Jason shouted

Jason's Metagross had taken point and launched a powerful Hyper Beam at the thrashing Onix's snout. The beam connected, and Onix's head snapped back as it roared in pain. Then it snarled and reared up.

"Noooooo!"

Metagross, recharging from the Hyper Beam attack, was crushed beneath the Onix's Body Slam. It was now that the team truly saw how powerful this Onix was: When it lifted its head, Metagross was revealed to be fully unconscious.

"Okay, guys!" Jason yelled, "You all have to listen! Don't take any risks! Chip away at it! Now is not a good time to get cocky. Nobody play hero!"

Here, Jason shot Char-Char a look, and his most gallant, daring Pokemon met his gaze with a single eye and gave a subtle nod.  
Jason returned his attention to the battle.

"Freezy, now! Blue, Poliwrath, follow suit! Leen, follow them!"

Freezy dipped low over the Onix's head. With Aggron free, he now had a clear shot. He opened his mouth.

_Fssssssswwwwz_! _BzzzzzzFwooooooosssshhh_!

Freezy launched an ice beam, and Lanturn let loose a Thunder-charged Hydro Pump. The three attacks fused and hit again at the top of Onix's head. Dust exploded, but the giant did not falter.  
Next, Freezy soared upward to give the trailing Leen a clear shot. Leen poured a Gold Beam into the damaged spot.

Blue and Bubbles launched their Hydro Pumps, and Marvin charged them up with a Thunder of his own.

Jason had hoped to see the quick succession of attacks at least cause the Onix to show signs of damage, but the thing reacted like a bear being shot with a pellet gun. It dove—faster than one would expect something that big to move, but still slow enough to see it coming—and Jason's Azumarill, Poliwrath, and Gardevoir were forced to leap out of the way to avoid a crater-forming Headbutt.

Attacks were flying from every angle. Jason's 30 Pokemon were not letting up, but the Onix was beginning to wear them down. Even Char-Char was having to grit his teeth.

Jason realized that his strategy would not be strong enough to win against something this massive. He wracked his brain for an idea, when suddenly . . . .

"Aggie, go!"

Jason turned to see a larger-than-average Nidorino leaping over a ridge to the southeast. A small, feminine figure climbed atop the crest.

"Hit it hard!" Her voice shouted.

It was Shelly!

"Tropius, get me down there!" Jason ordered.

Tropius continued her barrage of Razor Leaves even as she swept downward. When the Onix turned to Bite Tropius, Char-Char let out a Blast Burn that took Onix hard across the jaw. The rock snake turned and lunged, and Char-Char barely missed getting pummeled.

Then something amazing happened. The Nidorino slammed into Onix's side . . . and knocked it over.

Jason's Pokemon took the opportunity to let loose a barrage of their most powerful attacks.

_Nidorino is a super-Pokémon, too_, Jason realized.

"Hop on!" Jason shouted to Shelly once Tropius had landed.

She ignored his outstretched hand and pulled herself up.

"Aggie, Poison Sting!" Shelly shouted.

Nidorino complied, but this time the attack didn't do much.

"A poison attack won't work well against a rock type," Jason advised, "Stick with the physical attacks. Your Nidorino's strength could help us out a lo—"

"Shutup and don't tell me how to fight. Nidorino, Body Slam! Find an opening!"  
Jason ignored both Shelly and his own annoyance with her comment. He called to his Pokémon.

"Concentrate fire on that spot at the back of its neck! That seemed to do the most damage. Right at the base of its head. That should knock it out."

He hoped.

Then he had an idea for how to make the aiming task easier. He had learned it from martial arts training, and his Psychic Pokémon could implement it here.

"Marvin and Sphya, Aikido principles! Redirect its body energy at opportune moments to provide the others with their shots! Altaria, Crobat, and Togekiss, cover all angles and watch your teammates' backs! Tell 'em when to jump, when to dodge, when and where to shoot!"

The strategy proved effective. Even if they weren't taking Onix down, they were at least controlling the battle now. Char-Char's distraction team provided a constant pressure of irritation via fire and lightning attacks. Now that Onix had learned to ignore them and pursue the more dangerous water, ice, and psychic attackers, Char-Char's group sought to blind Onix if they could, or at least obscure its peripheral vision by exploding Fire Blasts or Thunderbolts on the sides of its head.

Meanwhile, Freezy was always looking for an opening. When he got close, the Psychic Pokémon would move Onix just enough so that Freezy and Lanturn had a perfect shot. Then the pair would let loose with their triple-threat, and slowly but surely, a dent began to appear in the giant Pokémon's rock hide.

Twice, Onix dipped low, and Marvin and Sphya added Psychic power to its momentum, bringing it crashing into the ground. The second time, they managed to roll the Onix so the weak point on its neck was facing Elecuty and Poliwrath, who had prepared a Hydro-Pump/Thunder combination.

Crusher, the Golem, having exhausted his Earthquake attack, was pummeling Onix with everything he had. Armos was following suit, using her advantageous Steel type attacks to wreak havoc.

The plant Pokemon, too, contributed. Victreebel's Vine Whip gave Tulip a ride to aim a few Solarbeams into the target spot, and Tropius' flight allowed it to barrage the Onix with an almost constant stream of Razor Leaves.

All this time, Big Red—Jason's red Gyarados—had been using Dragon Rage and Hydro Pump; now he unleashed those attacks on the target region and used his body weight in conjunction with Nidorino's Body Slams and the psychic attacks.

Slowly but surely, Onix began to weaken.

At the very end, it gave one last bellow and reared straight up into the air. Everyone almost breathed a sigh of relief, but they knew better. They poured everything they had into Onix's hide, wherever they could hit, right then and there.

In its last moments of consciousness, the panicked Onix dove at the ground in desperation. The attack came so suddenly that no one had time to react. Jason saw Elecuty's life flash before his eyes as Onix's jaws came down atop the Raichu's head, and both disappeared into the earth. Jason's heart stopped.

"GROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!"

Once again, Onix burst forth from the earth, but this time, brilliant light was shining from its mouth. Lightning plasma shot from all sides of the beast's great maw. Leen, who was closest to Onix's neck, donned a fierce look and flew at the target spot.

"LEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"RRAAAAAAAIIIII!"

_BZZZZZZZEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWW_!

Leen's Gold Blast met Elecuty's Thunder, and a massive explosion ensued. Leen quickly dodged as the Thunder attack shot through the hole that had been created where the target spot had once been. Char-Char flew quickly to yank open the knocked-out Onix's jaws before it fell.

"Aggron!" Armos grunted, positioning herself beneath Elecuty to keep him from hitting the ground.

Onix hit the ground with a crash and began breathing very slowly. A ring of gold light persisted around the sizzling hole in the back of Onix's neck. Everyone was too tired to cheer, or do anything else but feel relieved. Even now, none of them would drop their guard.

"Raaaiii . . ." Elecuty joked self-deprecatingly, blushing a little in Armos's arms.

Tropius touched down near Metagross, and the two humans hopped off. Jason immediately raced over to his fallen Pokémon, pulling a Max Revive out of his backpack.

"How about a thank you," Shelly said crossly.

"_Thank you_," Jason said sincerely, "You helped us a lot. That would have been much, much harder without you."

The girl scoffed. "You couldn't have done it without me."

"Grooooo . . . ." Metagross awakened, wincing.

Jason patted his steel friend's hide.

"We could have done it," he answered, giving an honest assessment of his team's ability, "But it would have taken a lot longer."

"Oh, well, I guess I'll be going now, then." She said, rolling her eyes for the umpteenth time.

"Good job, guys," Jason encouraged his friends while still trying to figure out how to talk to Shelly.

Finally, he decided to ask, "Hey, what are you doing out here, anyway? I thought you were against leaving Borom."

"I came out here to keep you from getting your rear wiped for you. Somebody had to make sure you didn't die."

_This kid thinks every conversation is a death match_, Jason thought, _She's defending herself when she doesn't need to be. If that doesn't scream insecurity, I don't know what does_.

But she didn't seem to be the type to be insecure in normal things, like appearance (and Jason once again thought she was very pretty); maybe she was insecure in her place in the universe? Her morality? Her . . . what if it was her ability as a Pokémon trainer that she felt was inadequate? The time she had gotten most cross with him today was when he had given her advice on how to attack the Onix.

In any case, she was obviously a very conflicted, pained young woman. Jason really felt for her.

"Well, like I said, thanks. Do you . . . are you going back to the town?"

"Yeah, I'm going to town. To Galaia. You can think of me as a native escort."

Jason was stunned. But . . . then again . . . it made perfect sense. Galaia was where her parents were killed. Maybe she felt like leaving with a trainer as strong as him was the safest way she could really get closure. But why not leave with the next caravan that went there for supplies?

_Because she wants to go alone_, Jason realized, _She wants . . . the same thing I'm always craving. The same thing her brother is craving. Probably the same thing her parents craved when they were alive_.

"Does your grandpa know you're gone?" Jason asked. He knew he would feel dumb if she said yes, but he had a hunch that she had left without telling anyone.

"You leave my business to me. Don't ask questions."

So she _had_ run away.

"Did you leave a letter?"

Shelly rolled her eyes again. "I left my grandfather a letter. Which means we need to be long gone from here, or they'll catch up with us."

Jason hesitated briefly. He would be breaking the trust of everyone in the town if he took her with him. On the other hand, if he took her back . . . . This journey might be what it took to bring her healing. They would have at least a few weeks together on the way to Galaia. That should be enough time to get her to open up to him. To herself. That's what she needed: to face whatever it was that she was carrying. Maybe this was his opportunity to make a difference. And, he admitted, he would be grateful for the human companionship.

"Okay," Jason nodded, "I'll take you. Under your conditions. But I have one, too: You need to stay close to me, and if we get into any big fights like that again, you need to let me give the orders, because I have more experience than you, and your Nidorino has some advantages, but it's not as strong in most ways as my Pokémon are."

There. He had directly hit her with an obvious but uncomfortable truth: that she would have to rely on him. He watched for her reaction.

Surprisingly, she took it well. He saw a glint of insecurity, but she glazed it over with a surge of pride.

_She's leaning on pride_, Jason observed.

"Deal," she said firmly.

"_Deal," not "Fine." That's progress._

Jason gave a warm, but rough, smile—a sign that he accepted her hardness and would willingly meet her persona where it stood.

"Glad to have you," Jason welcomed.

She again ignored his extended hand.


	5. Good Company

**The Legend of Leen**

_**Chapter 4: Good Company**_

"_You like that technique, Misty? We found the Technical Machine in Mt. Moon."  
"Mega Punch is a good attack, but you won't win with a Fire type, Jason. It just won't work!"_

"_Char-Char can handle it! Hang in there, buddy!"_

"_Chaaaar!"_

"_Mega Punch!"_

"_Staryu! Hm. I'm impressed. But get ready for this! Starmie! Go!"_

"_Oh, wow. Its evolved form. This is gonna be tough! Get ready, Char-Char! Mega Punch! Then get ready to—"_

"_Bubblebeam!"_

"—_Dodge!"_

"_Chaaar! Man…der…."_

"_Uh oh. Char-Char, get up! Good! Just be quick! Dodge every attack! Mega Punch again!"_

"_Charmander!"_

"_It…it's barely scratching it…."_

"_Water Gun. Finish it off."_

"_Charman! Der…."_

_Char-Char fainted._

"_Okay…go, Metapod! Use Tackle!" (Crossing my fingers, but it looks like we're not gonna win this one, either. Maybe next time we'll get lucky. We'll keep trying and trying until we do it, though. Maybe in the end it'll make Char-Char stronger. I'll capture more Pokémon and train Char-Char until he can handle anything! We're going to be the best! It's our destiny….)_

"That look like a good spot?"

"Good as any."

It had been a week. Shelly had gone from taking every opportunity to shove it in Jason's face that she couldn't stand him . . . to merely being standoffish. It was definitely a drastic improvement.

At first, Jason had just tried to be polite, but she just wouldn't let up. It began to grate against his nerves. She nagged him for everything she could think of: He couldn't make a fire fast enough, what kind of explorer was he? If he didn't stop making so much noise when he ate, she was going to shove her _fork_ down his throat. He should have used Castform to make it rain during the battle with Onix to give his team an advantage (which, admittedly, was a good idea that Jason had been too startled to think of at the time).

Things finally came to a head when Shelly overheard Jason talking to Silvia on the third night of their travels together.

"No sign of anything yet. But we're halfway to this new town, and I'm really hoping they'll be able to point me in the right direction."

"It would make things easier, that's for sure."

"No kidding. It was a long shot before, but now I'm getting hopeful about actually finding something."

While the two had been conversing via vid comm, Shelly had walked up with a bundle of kindling from the sparse shrubs that dotted the landscape.

"Who is that?" She demanded, chucking the sticks to the ground by the fire, their tips kicking up a cloud of angry sparks.

Jason hadn't heard her coming or expected her back so soon. He wasn't trying to be deceptive, but he knew Shelly probably wouldn't take it too well that he was communicating with someone from the outside. He didn't have any way to prove his motives for conducting research in Nyor were pure, so he had been planning on keeping his conversations with Sylvia private until he could figure out how to explain himself.

So much for that.

Shocked, Jason tried his best to answer smoothly, "Shelly, this is Sylvia. She's a friend from Kanto."

Unsure of how much of the conversation Shelly had heard, he knew he had to be open and honest to establish trust, so he added, "She's working with me to find energy sources that Leen might use to evolve."

There. That should be enough elaboration to placate her without making her worried about her home land coming under scientific and corporate scrutiny.

"And how is she doing that?" Shelly asked.

Again, so much for that.

Jason knew the only answer he could think to give was going to open up a can of worms, but hesitation would be worse, so he said, "I send her the data I pick up to analyze."

"Data? What data?" Shelly was in full-blown suspicion now.

"I have some devices that I . . . got . . . that let me detect elemental energy. It scans the area for, like, places underground that have a lot of it. Leen might use an area like that to evolve. Like, a giant evolution stone or something."

Jason knew it had come out filtered through his over-analysis and hadn't sounded as confident and articulate as he had wanted it to. This, of course, instead of making it clear that he had nothing sinister to hide made it appear exactly the opposite.

Jason was thankful Sylvia had the sense to not ask who Shelly was at this point, allowing them both time to think of how best to handle the situation.

He was even more thankful when she interjected tactfully, "Jason, let me see if I can help explain. Hi, my name is Sylvia. What's yours?"

"Who are you working for?" Shelly demanded.

But even at this, Sylvia was smooth. Jason knew she must have already been thinking of what she would say if she had to discuss things with native Nyorians at some point.

"We're independent researchers. We're interested in learning more about Nyor and the Pokémon there, as well as the possibilities for Pokémon evolution, including Leen's. We just think it could unlock a whole lot of new understanding of Pokémon and how we can help improve their lives and how they can help benefit humanity, too. We're not in it for profit or anything like that, so don't worry."

"I have special permission from the Ere government to be here," Jason added. "We had no idea there were people living here, so that makes me want to be even more careful about protecting this region than I already planned to be. It's not just an ecosystem to protect, it's a culture, too."

"If you're independent, then why does her shirt have a Silph Co. logo?"

Busted. Jason and Sylvia glanced at one another, surprised. Exposure during their video conferences was something they had never thought of as a concern since they had never planned for Jason to be travelling with any locals. Until a few days before, they hadn't known locals existed.

Sylvia blushed. Jason perceived that this was partially because she had been caught bending the truth and partially because she was embarrassed at not having thought ahead.

After a sheepish silence, Jason explained almost with a sigh, "Sylvia works for Silph, Shelly. But we're working together independently of them."

"Who do you people think you are?" Shelly exploded, "You think you can come in here and take over our resources and our land?"

"We're not, we're not," Jason tried to reassure her.

Sylvia just rolled her tongue in her mouth, frustrated, waiting for Jason to look her way so she could shoot him a you-should-have-known-better look. Jason saw this out of the corner of his eye and ignored it.

"You industrial people make me sick," Shelly said, storming off, murmuring about self-superior society, probably something she had picked up from city-shy relatives who had a fear of bureaucracy.

"Small town fever, much?" Sylvia quipped.

Now Jason turned to the screen. "She _is_ from a never-before charted location. 'Boondocks' doesn't even come close."

"So who is she? Don't tell me it's that girl you mentioned."

"It is. She followed me."

"Jason! You've got to take her back!"

"Now? What if Ere visits her town?"

"Why would…oh, right."

Sylvia had just realized what Jason had already thought of. If these towns existed with modern technology, at least the larger one must have some kind of semi-regular contact with Ere.

Then Sylvia must have had a thought. "How long has she been with you?"

Jason grimaced. "Three days. She found me the day I left."

Before Sylvia could get on his case about letting her come with him in the first place, he quickly added, "She helped me in a Pokémon battle. A huge Onix with the same extra strength as the other Pokémon here. My whole team had trouble taking it down."

"Your Kanto team?" Sylvia asked.

"No. My _entire_ team. All 30 of them. It was an insane fight."

"Geez, Jason. Be careful out there. Are you sure you don't want to pull back?"

He shrugged. "We're going to fly by Pokémon as much as possible once my team rests up. And they have some special Repels that keep most Pokémon away. Shelly said the Onix only live in that area. We might face other threats as we go further along, but we can run when we need to, and we're keeping watch."

"You still haven't told me the real reason you're letting her go with you."

Jason's eyes grew soft. "She lost her parents. In this town we're headed to. I want to help her. To get closure. To deal with things."

Sylvia sighed. "Not your job to play hero, you know. Be careful. With her, I mean. She could get..."

"Attached. I know. I'll be careful."

Sylvia paused, a concerned look on her face, and then for good measure, added, "You're an idiot."

Jason smirked. They had never been on such familiar terms before. Jason kind of liked it. It had been a while since he'd had a friend joke around with him like that.

Of course, she wasn't completely joking. He was absolutely being an idiot, and he knew that full well.

"So…" she continued, "Shall we call your endearing little sidekick back?"

"I'll talk to her," Jason said, "Let me call you back in a little bit."

They signed off.

Jason found Shelly fuming on the other side of a small hill.

"Shelly, I'm sorry I didn't tell you," he said, choosing not to chastise her about going a dangerous distance away.

She met him with an icy glare and an incredulous look.

"I was going to, but I didn't want to make you think we were doing anything bad or illegal, and I wasn't sure how to convince you," he continued trying, "I should have told you before I called her or as soon as I thought about it. That was my mistake, it was wrong to keep it from you, and I'm really, truly sorry."

He expected his heartfelt humility would help her relax.

Instead, she responded with, "You think that's gonna work? You think even if you're not trying to come in and take over yourself—which I still may not believe—that as soon as they hear about this place, they won't come crawling all over? Studying Pokémon and the people who live here like science experiments?"

The thought crossed Jason's mind to correct her with, _Actually, cultural anthropologists . . ._ and provide an explanation of exactly how cultural anthropologists might study her society,but he decided against it.

"We're working hard to prevent that from happening. Obviously there are people already here—the hunters your granddad mentioned—, and we need to work to figure out what kinds of resources are here so we and the Ere government can help protect them."

"We don't need help from a bunch of outsiders. Especially ones that can't handle themselves without some . . . uncivilized native helping them around."

"Listen," Jason shifted his stance, irritated, "What is it with you? I mean, what is your problem, exactly?"

He regretted it as soon as he had said it. It had been half a natural releasing of frustration, but he was able to console himself that, on some level, allowing that release had been a deliberate tactic aimed at trying to get through to her. But even before she responded, he knew it would only make things worse. Even so bad that he might never earn her trust at this point.

"You are! I was doing fine before you got here and I found out my homeland is about to be invaded by corporate . . . money . . . jerks!"

"Corporate. Money. Jerks." Jason repeated slowly.

His mouth pulled apart in a helpless grin.

"Shutup," Shelly responded.

"Oh, will you calm down?"

Her eyes narrowed angrily, but she didn't say anything. Later, Jason would remember and think that there might have been water welling in her eyes.

"Listen, I really am sorry," he tried being gentle again, "But please trust me. I'm doing this to protect Nyor and the rest of the world. There are people out there who _would_ totally scour this place for powerful Pokémon and energy sources, and we just want to find them first and make sure they don't fall into the wrong hands. Or it could be bad for everyone."

She didn't say anything. At first he thought she was just considering, but the pause was long, and he thought she might have been holding back tears. He admitted he probably didn't have enough experience with girls to figure that out.

"Would you like to listen in on our conversations so you know for sure you can trust us?" Jason asked.

In the back of his mind, he was hoping she would, at some point, agree that he should stay in Nyor. He wouldn't feel right staying against the wishes of someone representing the region itself. In his eyes, that trumped Ere's jurisdiction in the ethical realm, even though they technically had the authority to make decisions regarding the province.

And even though Shelly's grandpa hadn't had a problem with his traveling the region, Jason realized that one view might not represent all the others. He considered that he might have to leave if she were against his staying, and that either way, he might need to ask permission from the leaders of the town up ahead.

"Fine," Shelly said, putting Jason's moral concerns a little more at rest.

They returned to their camp, and Shelly listened as Jason resumed his conversation with Sylvia. She seemed pacified the whole time—a good sign, Jason thought—and eventually she began to appear bored as they talked about rock samples, topography, and other geography data. Jason hoped Shelly would like Sylvia's witty, occasionally smart-aleck personality, but he couldn't read the former well enough to know.

"Satisfied?" Jason asked sincerely once he and Sylvia had hung up.

Shelly ignored him and moved away to prepare for bed.

She didn't talk as much for the next few days. When he tried to initiate conversation, she would answer with a guarded tone, but at least she wasn't being downright obnoxious anymore.

Jason was encouraged that she had just responded almost cordially to his question about a landing spot.

They landed, and Jason began to set up his tent. Shelly hadn't brought much with her—just a bag with a change of clothes and some extra, easy-to-prepare cooking ingredients that didn't take up a lot of space. She went out to scavenge for wild berries to add to their meal tonight.

Jason sent a few of his Pokémon to escort her. Her Nidorino, whose name was Aggie, had wanted to come with her, but she made him stay back and rest.

Plants in the region were sparse, but they weren't too hard to find, and they were usually heavy laden. It rained in the region somewhat frequently because of the clouds locked in by the mountains. The moisture collected in little crevices that were easy enough to spot, and the bushes grew out of those.

Jason had more than enough food in his item balls—he had prepared for a journey of many months, knowing he was bringing a team of nearly 30 Pokémon—but Shelly liked to cook, and Jason figured it would help her feel useful. Meanwhile, Jason was trying to make a fire.

"Char-Char, let me do it. You need to rest, buddy."

Char-Char scoffed and spat a few embers onto the pile of wood. Immediately they caught flame.

_Now I'll rest_, he growled, lumbering off and curling up a short distance away.

Jason had to smile. Char-Char had flown for six hours straight with two humans on his back. That was much farther than they had ever flown back in Jason's days in the Pokémon League. He was exhausted and unafraid to admit it, but he still wouldn't let Jason baby him. That was Char-Char's nature: complete loyalty. If Char-Char could help his trainer, his friend—or anyone else, for that matter—in any way, he would sacrifice his own comfort to do so.

Jason thought they had made good progress today. Tropius had flown three hours, and Freezy had flown two. Char-Char, of course, had to push the limit.

It helped them pick up a lot of their lost time at the beginning. Jason had remarked from the first day he and Shelly began traveling together that flying would be safer and faster than walking.

But he had needed to give his Pokémon time to rest after their battle with the Onix. He had decided that if another Pokémon like that attacked, he and Shelly would have to jump on Tropius' back and run away, but unless that were to happen, he would let his team recover.

So they had walked. The trail hadn't been too bad; not your average interstate, by any means, but it made Jason feel like a kid again, exploring a new, uncharted land.

And the scenery was beautiful. The crests became gradually lower to the north and the east, so any time you walked over a high enough ridge, you could see for miles. Nothing but mountains and sky. The sky turned purple at sunset, an effect that Sylvia had tried to explain to him, but that he didn't really understand scientifically.

He and Shelly had walked for a whole week before Jason felt ready to let the fliers pick up some slack. Fortunately there were no more attacks during that time; the Nyor Repel did its job quite well, and no more giant Pokémon had appeared. The challenge for Jason had been the awkward silence that often persisted throughout the day.

In fact, save for Shelly's negativity, he had scarcely heard any conversation. Any time he talked to his Pokémon, he always got the impression that it was annoying her. And any time he tried to talk with her, she blew him off. Many times he had thought that he would have been better off _without_ the company from this particular person.

_I'm not doing this for me_, he reminded himself, _I'm doing it for her_.

So he decided not to push the issue by striking up a conversation tonight. Just wait until she wore herself out. But she was much more stubborn than he had expected. He wondered when the ice would break.

"Got some Leppas and some Orans," Shelly announced, tossing two, small sacks down near Jason's side.

"Start peeling those," she pointed at the sack containing the Oran berries. "I'll make us a sauce."

"You wanna use the rest of those lentils we found the other day?"

"That's what the sauce is for," Shelly said disparagingly.

_Yes_. _Of course it is_. Jason thought.

He prayed, not for the first time on this trip, for patience.

The last meal she had made hadn't been very good. This one . . . wasn't very good.

Shelly must have noticed Jason's face, because she commented on it.

"I'm not working with the best ingredients, here. If we had some mushrooms or something, at least . . . ."

_It would be fantastic, I'm sure_.

Jason tried to suppress his annoyance by eavesdropping on the conversation some of the Pokémon were carrying on.

"So what's it like to breathe fire?" Shelly's Nidorino was asking Char-Char.

"It's kind of like shooting poison from your horn, I bet. Do you feel a well of the Poison element within you that you pull energy up from?"

"Yeah . . . yeah, I guess I do. I've never thought of it like that. We don't think about it much really, huh?"

"Yeah, that's a good question. I've thought of it as a pool of Fire-type energy inside me before, but I've never asked if anyone else thought of it the same way."

"Hmm . . . I guess before, I thought of it as stretching out. Like growing a new arm, almost."

Char-Char nodded, "That's what the move Fire-Spin and other shape-changing Fire attacks are like. You control the movement of the fire even after it leaves you because it's still a part of you."

"That's kind of like humans using swords," Jason joined in, "It's like an extension of your own body."

Char-Char nodded, "I think you've said that before."

"So . . ." came a voice from the other side of the fire, "How do you . . . understand them?"

Jason turned to look, surprised, at Shelly. Her question hadn't been in a defensive tone at all. Maybe he _was_ gaining her trust after all.  
"I just started spending more time with my Pokémon," Jason replied, trying to keep his tone easygoing, "And asking them how to say different things. Char-Char was the first one I could understand. Then the other five in my main Kanto team. After I got more Pokémon from other regions, it wasn't too hard to pick up on their languages. They all speak either their names or a growl, so it sounds different, but the patterns they use are similar, so it's more like each species has its own dialect than a whole different language."

Shelly sat quietly for a moment.

Then she said, "I never thought anyone could do that. At first I thought you were just acting like it."

Jason nodded, unsure of what to say for fear that he might say the wrong thing.

"I'd been wondering," she shrugged, looking down and then up at a cloud hovering over a particularly tall peak half a mile or so away.

"Have you ever tried with Aggie?" Jason asked.

She seemed to cringe a little. "Never really thought I could, I guess."

Later, Jason realized he should have noticed her expression and understood what it meant.

But he didn't, so he said, "Do you want me to try to teach you?"

That set Shelly off.

"What is it with you always thinking I need help? Do I just look weak to you or something? Is it because I'm a girl? Is it because my parents are dead and you think I'm emotionally damaged and fragile? What?"

_Oops. Smooth move, Jason._

"Uh . . . ."

"You know what I think about you, Jason? I think you're self-righteous."

That stung. Maybe he was being presumptuous to think that it was his job to fix everyone's problems. But the way she said it . . . .

"I don't think you're weak at all. You can definitely handle yourself, I just—"

"Then what?" she interrupted, "What _do _you think? You just what? Just—"

"Shelly, I don't think you're weak," Jason interrupted back, hoping to cut off her tirade, "It was just an offer to . . ." he struggled to find words that wouldn't offend her.

"—Just see me as a messed up kid who needs to be—"

". . . to share something that I've learned so you can use it, too."

"—Taken care of and protected by you, because you think you're so strong and experienced. You think you can help me through all my supposed issues? And then get me on your side so you can clear your conscience about even being here?"

"Okay, _Shelly_," Jason tried to start.

"Wouldn't that be nice? All the little natives okay with having you here so you can sleep easy at night knowing you're not stepping on any toes."

"_Shelly_."

"You think you can act all nice and think I'm going to let my guard down so you can 'help' me? You're so full of yourself."

Jason's eyes widened in frustration. "You are such a _punk_."

He felt guilty the instant he let the insult slip.

"And you're an arrogant snob."

Jason struggled to regain his composure, calming his tone while letting his frustration show a little so it wouldn't look unnatural.

"Why do you insist on being obnoxious with everything that comes out of your mouth?"

"Maybe because I'm traveling with someone who thinks he's God."

Jason sighed. "I don't think I'm God. I'll admit I think of myself as a good trainer, but I'm not—"

"Sure you do. You probably think you're the best trainer in the world."

"I was _about_ to say that I'm not the kind of person who doesn't understand his weaknesses. You really helped me with that Onix. You know a lot of things about this region that I don't."

Shelly had finally stopped exploding and was starting to listen, so he kept going.

"You just need to learn to understand your own weaknesses, too—and yes, you have them. You can't just go through life on your own."

"I have until now."

"Your granddad took care of you after your parents died," Jason replied, dropping the elephant right into the middle of the room.

Apparently caught off guard by the sudden addressing of the real issue, Shelly stammered.

"I live with him. I take care of myself," she insisted.

"Okay. Well, my point is that you—that no one is perfect, and we all have to have an honest assessment of our abilities and our needs. For me, I'm good at battling, but my Pokémon run into trouble when trainers rely on poison, sleep, and confusion-based strategies. My team compensates for that by their resiliency and high hit points, but I know if I'm going to fight a Ghost type, there are a limited number of strategies I can use. That's something I learned early on."

"I learned how to train my Pokémon on my own," she defended angrily, "I haven't had the luxury of getting advice from people in a League."

Jason suddenly realized that most of Shelly's insecurity had less to do with her parents than it did her perception of herself as a trainer. Now he knew what to say.

"Is that something you wanted to do?"

Shelly paused.

Then, a simple, "Yes."

"So . . . what made you want to do that?"

She hesitated again and then tried to sound nonchalant, "We used to watch League battles on TV. Kanto and Hoenn. When I got Aggie, I always thought he could be strong enough to win some competitions if I ever had the chance to train."

"He could be. Especially if he ever evolved into Nidoking. It's a hard road, though. Lots of setbacks, especially in the beginning."

"I could handle it."

"I think you could, too."

Jason paused just long enough that it wouldn't seem like he had planned it, and then he said, "If you want . . . we could see if someone would sponsor you. I have some connections in Kanto and Hoenn. Would you be interested?"

Shelly's face actually softened, just for a moment, and then the guard came back up.

"I couldn't leave my family."

Jason nodded. Then, he had another idea. "Well, you can always train against wild Pokémon here. This region is way tougher than anywhere I've ever been. And I can back you up if you ever need it."

"Why don't you stop being such a jerk and just teach me how to train."

Surprised again. Jason was not expecting that. And she had said it ironically, with a smirk.

"Okay," he said eagerly, "Definitely. When do you want to start?"

"Tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll come up with a program, and we can start getting Aggie some exercise. Then, if we encounter any wild Pokémon, you'll be the first to go into battle."

"Can we do it every day? Until we get to Galaia?"

"Done. I'm looking forward to it."

She didn't respond. There was a long break in the conversation. Jason was excited to finally have a breakthrough in—and he smiled in spite of himself—his little amateur counseling sessions.

"Well," he finally said, "I have to call Sylvia."

He glanced at Shelly cautiously.

"Do you want to listen in, so you can know we're not, like, calling in a fleet of bulldozers or something?"

Shelly nodded.

"Although I don't think bulldozers come in fleets," Jason mused, "But anyway. That sounds good. Tomorrow, then."

It was nice to Char-Char to see the different teams growing closer.

The quieter Pokémon like Tropius and Sky—who had traveled together in Hoenn—and Sugar had begun to bond more closely, while the more boisterous crowd like Elecuty, Blue, and Armos had been laughing up a storm at each other's stories and jokes.

Aggie had spent a lot of time this week with Cinder—the Ninetales's kind, cheerful personality had been welcoming to him. Tonight, though, Char-Char had reclined next to him, hoping to get to know his new traveling companion. It didn't take long for Aggie to strike up a conversation.

"So . . . Why are you so stubborn about wanting to help Jason?"

Leen, who was perched beside them, said, "Wouldn't you want to do anything to help your master?"

"Yeah, of course I would!" Aggie said, "I'd do anything for her!"

Char-Char hid a smile as he saw how the Nidorino reflected some of his trainer's defensiveness.

_Okay._ _If Jason can handle the girl, I can handle this kid_.

"It's the same with Jason's Pokémon," Char-Char explained.

"And we all know Jason would do the same for us," Leen added.

Aggie frowned. "But Jason is telling you to rest. Shouldn't Pokémon trust their masters to know what's best?"

"My master has a strong relationship with God," Char-Char said, "A Pokémon's relationship with its master should be a lot like a human's relationship with God."

"What is that like?" Aggie asked.

"God speaks, humans must listen. God commands, humans must obey. God loves, humans should respond in kind. And when people allow God to train them, He evolves them into better companions for one another, wiser caretakers of the life they've been given, and more powerful fighters against the evils in this world we must defend.

"The difference," Char-Char said, "Is that humans aren't all-knowing, and they aren't all-powerful. They're human."

"So we should question them sometimes." Aggie finished.

"Well, I may disagree with Jason when I speak with him as a friend. I believe we should even help guide our trainers with the knowledge we have. I believe that's why God placed many different people and Pokémon with different experiences and abilities in the world together—so we could learn from each other.

"But at the end of the day, they're still our trainers. And when our trainers give a command, we must be ready to submit and follow their lead. That's why it's important to battle against a human's Pokémon with all your might to determine if that human is worthy to command you."

"But," Leen said, "I was never captured in a battle. And neither were you, Char-Char."

"I was given to my master as a gift from her father, who captured me," added Aggie.

"And I was given to Jason, too." Char-Char replied, "When you love someone, you serve them no matter what. You lend all your strength to them. And if you love them, you should treat them with the utmost respect and love, and obey them without question in battle, just like a human should obey God that way."

"Then why did you argue with Jason?" Aggie asked, a little frustrated and only partially successful at hiding it.

"Because it is clearly evident that humans do _not_ always obey God that way, and that shows that they don't always do what is best for themselves."

Leen and Aggie nodded.

"That's why God gave humans and Pokémon each other, so that through their friendships they could protect each other from costly mistakes. To protect your master is a more important duty than even obeying her," said Char-Char.

They turned and watched the fire together. It was a warming experience for all of them, seeing a human work to build a flame to keep them warm and give them rest, knowing that that flame had come from the mouth of a Pokémon who loved him.

"Well, I'm asking," Aggie said hesitantly, "Because sometimes Shelly tells me to go away when she's crying . . ." He paused.

"And you're not sure what to do?" Leen finished.

"I'm wondering . . . I'm wondering if I should stay and try to be there for her anyway."

"I think if you think she needs it," Leen said. "I don't know, but sometimes when my friends are sad, they've told me later that what they really want is for someone to love them enough to be nice even when they're not being friendly."

"And other times, they might need to face things on their own," said Crusher, the Golem, who had been reclining with a half-open eye nearby.

"So how do I know?" Aggie asked, mildly exasperated.

"Hmph. Girls." Crusher responded.

"_People_," the nearby Metatak the Metagross amended.

"Pray for wisdom," Char-Char answered, "Trust God to guide you. You won't always get it right, but just know that whatever happens, if you're trusting Him, He'll use it to give her the best."

"But what if she gets mad at me or stays sad because I did the wrong thing?"

"You're thinking too much," Crusher said, "Just do your best. You'll get better at it eventually. Just like battling. Just like anything."

Leen nodded, contemplating.

"I want to get better." He said after a pause, "At knowing how to help other people with their struggles."

"Me too," said Aggie, "I'll give it a shot."

The conversation came to a lull.

Visions danced through Char-Char's mind of his and Jason's very first adventure.

For some reason, his thoughts centered on the first time he had fought Misty. Then on the many disappointments as he and Jason stayed in Cerulean trying to win the Cascade Badge. The day he evolved into Charmeleon after weeks of hard training and returned to defeat her.

Char-Char thought of these things as he watched Jason hauling logs to pile atop the fire.

_It was like this from the beginning_. _Helping each other. Teaching each other._

That thought gave Char-Char a deep warmth. Maybe more warmth than even his physical, inner flame could bring.

"What are they talking about?" Shelly asked.

Jason gave Char-Char a smile.

"What it means to be a master."


End file.
